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TV - ARTS — ENTftTAINMINT *
Blue Folk resumes
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WORLD OF
| THEATRE
by
KIN
HEALEY
In mid-January Blue Folk's
new artistic director and ad
ministrator both began work
at the Strathnaim homestead.
For Robyn Alewood, becoming
artistic director could be con
sidered something of a promo
tion. She had been an actor and
designer with Blue Folk last year,
after having originally worked in
Canberra with the Jigsaw com
pany at Reid House. Trained in
Sydney with the Rocks Players,
Robyn is used to devising theatre
from the resources of a group
which contains both professional
and amateur talent.
For Ian Corr, being adminis
trator at Blue Folk could hardly
be called a promotion in the stric
test sense of the word, but he
■ obviously regards his change of
style and conditions as a stimu
lating challenge.
Although he was in Singapore
last year studying Mandarin, he
is by profession an administrator
in the arts, having been secretary
to the Arts minister in the De
partment of Ministerial Services
in Papua New Guinea for some
years. In that capacity, Ian had
been responsible for arts festivals
as well as handling the usual
bureaucratic paperwork in the
arts.
It seems that Robyn Alewood
and Ian Corr will have to get to
know each other on the job, , as
February marks the return to
full-scale activity at Blue Folk/
There will be two community
productions to be prepared; as
well as two shows to take to
schools. ^
Community Clowns will work
out of Blue Folk at Sunday in the
Park and at fetes and similar
gatherings. In addition, more
than 13 weekly classes are al
ready scheduled, plus' half a
- dozen weekend workshops, where
such things as silk-screening,
clown and circus skills (not all in
the same workshop) will be of
fered.
If funding can be found, the
gifted Aldo Gennaro will return
for another week to further Blue
Folk's continuing work with
handicapped adults. Then there
will be Sunday in the Woolshed
during winter, participation in
other community events... the
list goes on, and the enthusiasm
seems endless.
To achieve all this, Blue Folk
will continue to use its standard
mixture of full-time and part
time people. Peter Heffernan, al
ready familiar to Blue Folk regu
lars as mime and actor, is once
again a member of the fuli-titne
staff. So is puppeteer Shelley
McDonald, returned to the farm
after a brief stint at Canberry
Fair as a member of the
Punchinello troupe. Sandra;
Warner, the company's treasurer,
has taken over as caretaker on the
Strathnairn farm.; '
While retaining its specialtela
tionship with children, Blue Folk
intends this year to extend ,its
range of community arts to; pa- .
rents as well. Thus, in the work
shops which explore drama, there
is no attempt to turn people into
actors. Rather, they are given the
chance to experience the dramat
ic process. In a similar way, week
end workshops in craft will com
plement the ever-popular sum*
mer schools, offering a chance to
those who cannot attend courses
which occupy a week' or a fort
night at a time.
Al| those who iare interested jn _■
joining Blue Folk should now be
contactingStrathnairn on
542134 for details of activities. y.
Adults and family groups who*'
simply witnt to be involved are
assured of at least' one new '
project every month.
StrathnairnY; location in Holt
makes it an ideal focus for the
people of Belconnen, but I cannot
imagine enthusiasts from other
areas of Canberra being turned
away. '■' 1
$