Blue Apple celebrated its first Summer Festival during Learning disability week

New members were welcomed to new dance, drama and singing classes and supporters of the theatre company were invited to a VIP evening where members gave a presentation about the wide range of activities at Blue Apple interspersed with dance and drama performances

Extract from Jane's speech

Welcome

Thank you for coming to help celebrate the busy life of Blue Apple Theatre. Why did we start Blue Apple? – we wanted to give members the fun of theatre and the benefits - building social skills and confidence.

People then were telling us they were bored and lonely and isolated. I remember writing in our first funding bid that it would be hugely significant if people started to arrange to meet each other outside Blue Apple evenings – well....now you are...

Since 2005 about 30 members of Blue Apple have met on Monday evenings to rehearse and put on 8 costumed shows which each include singing and dance so that people can choose whether they prefer to act dance or sing. We think about each member individually trying to help them follow their dreams and develop the skills they need. People outside tell us they notice how you have grown. We are very proud of you.

 
 

We don't just perform here at the Tower: We’ve been invited to perform at the National Downs Syndrome organisation, at Brighton, at the Hat Fair, and this year in London where we received a standing ovation, next term some of us will be performing at the National Mencap conference, Southampton medical school want us to work with them. We've been on Meridian TV several times. We’ve won an award. All this has happened because you work hard and you work as a team helping each other, you learn your lines and come to rehearsals on time.

Since January we have been achieving a few more dreams –

• We launched the Apple Cores – a group of actors who want to develop their skills and who are developing issue based dramas.

This is why we won the Fred Matser’s Fred Foundation/Peace Child International Rediscover Your Heart Award to

'Rediscover our Hearts by using drama to tell our story and change people's attitudes towards people with  learning disabilities.'

We were invited to give a short performance at the ceremony in London and devised the Touched by Love dance which our dancers will perform for you later.

Later you will see part of one of our medical dramas which we wrote with the help of a doctor and research from our own members and the Royal Mencap Death by Indifference Report. The plays look at things that can happen in hospital and how medical care might be improved

Earlier this year we were invited to take part in a Diversity and Equality seminar by Hampshire County Council. Our dramatised interview performances were aimed to improve inclusion of people with learning disabilities at work. We told the stories of what our members are doing and can do at work. We hope the excellent reception of the performance will translate into more jobs being offered to people with learning disabilities.

• We’ve also just launched our mid week dance group to include members who have been on our waiting list.
• As you may imagine all this takes quite a bit of organising and Louise is busy in the office. This seemed a great opportunity to invite learning disabled volunteers who would like office work to help us so that we can help them gain skills ready for employment. 2 volunteers are now helping us in the office and one volunteers backstage with costumes and props.

In a minute members are going to perform for us and tell some of their stories. We couldn’t do all this without;

• The Tower Arts Centre – thank you for making us so welcome
• our funders
• our volunteers,
• our staff
• our members

You will meet some of them now as we celebrate the bubbling life of Blue Apple Theatre this evening.

'My son is a changed man since he joined Blue Apple. He is so much better' parent