16 Feb 2017
Last week, RCS students got creative as they took part in Bridge Week, the now annualfestival where students from all disciplines come together to invent new, exciting work. This year was no exception and for the first time, Transitions students were part of the programme.
The Bridge Week group, from L to R, Gudrun, Marissa, Abbie, Declan, Patricia and John
Led byBA Contemporary Performance Practice (CPP) graduate Gudrun Soley, students from our acting, music,filmmaking andproduction routes collaborated all week, culminating in a participatory performance entitled‘Roll the Dice’. The pieceinvited audiences toget involved in a variety of competitive, reflective and entertaining tasks,all held within theJack Bruce Space in the RCS Café Bar.
Music student Patricia attended the entire week, devisingand performing a section where she asked participants to reflect on a variety of musical pieces. She commented on her experience:
“I really enjoyed the whole experience and it was definitely something I would not forget.
“I feel that the Bridge Week Project gave me an opportunity for me to meet new people, explore my creativity and build my confidence, as well as working with others. Mostly, it gave me an opportunity to share my passion in music to other people and I am glad that they enjoyed what I had to share to them.”
RCS Contemporary Performance Practicegraduate Gudrun Soley
Artist Gudrun spoke of her experience leading the collaboration:
‘We worked together for five days to create Roll the Dice. The students created a project proposal from a conversation about their interests and together we figured out how to put their brilliant ideas into a performance. The students were interested in making work about chance and how unpredictable life can be, and so we framed the performances around the roll of a dice. One of the main challenges was to find a structure that would allow the students to participate fully in the project, whilst still managing their other commitments throughout the week.
“This is the first Transitions Bridge Week project and it felt important to me that each student had ownership of the work. The students created individual interactive performances, which explored the theme of chance from different standpoints. This meant that each student came up with their own concept from their interests and skills, whilst still linking their performance to the group piece. This meant that a student interested in screen was able to make their own film, whilst a musician created an interactive music experience.
“I believe Roll the Dice was a successful project, mainly because it recognised and utilized the students’ skills and interests.”
Thedice-led interactionscentered on themes of memory and chance,via a variety of forms includingrole play adventures and quick-fire quizzes. Overall, around 100 RCS students were rumoured to have taken part in the festival, with works including a play about acat on a mission to rescue a little girland aScottish musical set in 90s Glasgow.
Transitions students John and Abbie
