A Rainbow for Amala Book Launch Events

September 11, 2024 by

BOOK LAUNCH!

‘A Rainbow for Amala’ by Sudha Bhuchar, Katie Day and John Sear for The Other Way Works

Join us to celebrate the launch of our new interactive storybook for kids. 

Meet the writer and creators, hear extracts of the story, solve puzzles and crack codes at this fun workshop for kids aged 8-11 and their families. 

Bear Bookshop, Bearwood, Birmingham

11am-12pm

Saturday 21st September 

Book your free tickets online here

How Brave is the Wren, Kings Heath, Birmingham

11am-12pm

Sunday 22nd September 

Free, just turn up!

Tickets for children and accompanying parents/guardians/siblings are free

Copies of the book will be available to purchase on the day (£7.99). 

Nafeesa cares about the earth and wishes that everyone else did too. But it’s hard being an environmental activist when even your best friend keeps forgetting about his pledges to walk to school and pick up litter.

Join Nafeesa and her best friend Karim as they set out on a quest to befriend the quiet new girl Amala. What will give her back her smile? Use your phone or tablet to listen to their conversations, help them solve puzzles, crack codes and become part of their journey to uncover the truth. 

A Rainbow for Amala was created with input from children at Regents Park Community Primary School in Small Heath, Birmingham.

A Rainbow for Amala is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Also funded by the Foyle Foundation, the Sir Barry Jackson Trust, and the Sir Robert McAlpine Strong Foundations Fund.

Book giveaway at Y6 graduation assembly

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We were honoured to be invited to Year 6’s graduation assembly in July at Regents Park Community Primary School to present a finished printed book of A Rainbow for Amala to each of the pupils.

Sudha, John and I (Katie) have been lucky enough to work with the whole of year 6 over several months this spring and summer to help us develop and test A Rainbow for Amala, and we just could not have made the book without them. From inspiring us with their love of forest school, to providing our characters with lively dialogue, and even coming up with illustration ideas and designs, the children have always given us their honest opinion about what we created.

We hope they enjoy reading and playing the book, and feel proud of being part of making it a reality.

TOWW is recruiting new trustees

September 8, 2022 by

The Other Way Works is recruiting new Trustees to join its Board of Directors.

This is a great opportunity for your skills and experience to make a real difference to the development of an energetic and distinctive charitable arts organisation. We’re looking for people with a passion for theatre, the arts, and innovation, who will help steer, support and advocate for the company.

Brief expressions of interest should be sent by email to Rosie Gunn, Administrator at rosie@theotherwayworks.co.uk

Click here to download more information about the role.

If you’d like some more info, have any questions, or would like to have an informal chat with Katie Day (Artistic Director) or Dan Brown (Chair of the Board) about the opportunity, please get in touch with Rosie via email in the first instance.

What our audiences thought of Black Tonic

September 13, 2016 by

We had some really lovely responses from our 2015 audiences. Thanks to all who attended.

Young male performer sought for new interactive performance in Birmingham

September 6, 2016 by

Young male performer sought for new interactive performance in Birmingham

The Other Way Works – a new theatre game – ‘Agent in a Box’

We are looking for a performer to play ‘Hussein Kissar’ in a new theatre game we are developing, who fits the character brief below.

The part would suit a student performer, or someone with a playing age of 19-21. Ideally Birmingham/West Midlands based. Must be aged 18+.

The part

– Short Voice recordings of voicemail messages
– Live performance (observed by audience sitting in parked cars)

– – Walking around a multi-storey car park, agitated, on the phone
– – Potential meeting with ‘Michael Makerson’ in the car park, argument/hug/kiss etc
– – Potential delivery of envelope to audience members in parked car and short dialogue with them from back seat of car.

The character

“Hussein Kissar”
Age: 19
Nationality: Saudi Arabian

Hussein Kissar is a Saudi-born young man. The son of a wealthy Saudi businessman, he has been privately educated at top UK boarding school.
He is now a University student in London. He is independently wealthy and free to enjoy his life.
He has a keen interest in environmental issues and the green agenda.
He is a homosexual and is ‘out’ to his peers in the UK, but not to his family, or to friends in Saudi Arabia. He is therefore discreet about his sexuality in public contexts where this might attract unwanted coverage.
He has been having a secret affair with the politician and Environment Secretary ‘Michael Makerson’ for over a year. Makerson met him when giving a speech at his school, where Makerson’s own children also attend. Aged 17, he was invited by Makerson to shadow him as part of the school’s work experience programme.

When

– We’d like to make voice recordings in mid September, in Birmingham (or remotely)
– Performances as part of a public ‘playtesting’ event in central Birmingham on Monday 26th September 10am – 6pm

Potential performances in London on 12 & 13th November (under separate agreement)

Fee

£100

To cover 1 day of rehearsals and performances on 26 September 2016 and recording of short vocal recordings before that, inclusive of travel.

Contact

Katie Day, Artistic Director, The Other Way Works
www.theotherwayworks.co.uk
info@theotherwayworks.co.uk

Please send an email to info@theotherwayworks.co.uk telling us about your performing experience and why you would like to be involved by WEDNESDAY 14th SEPTEMBER 2016.
Please make the Email Subject: Hussein Kissar Role.
Please attach a CV and links to any photos/showreels/profiles online.

Thanks.

Black Tonic featured as a ‘Top Ticket’ in this week’s The Guardian Stage picks

September 14, 2015 by

We are thrilled that Black Tonic has been featured in this week’s The Guardian Stage “Top Tickets”

“The Other Way Works are touring the very intriguing Black Tonic to hotels around the country starting in at the Radisson Blu hotel in Birmingham.”

We open the show this Wednesday in Birmingham at the Radisson Blu Hotel, in association with Birmingham REP, before heading off to The Grand Hotel Bristol in partnership with Watershed, and ending our tour at The Bradford Hotel in partnership with Theatre in the Mill.

Black Tonic 2015 ‘Making Of’ Discussion Events in Birmingham & Bristol

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We are producing two ‘Making Of’ events to accompany the 2015 tour of Black Tonic.

These informal Q&A events provide an opportunity to find out more about the making of Black Tonic.

 

The making of Black Tonic: The science behind the show (Birmingham)

Discussion event: Friday 18th September 4-5pm
Meeting point: Birmingham REP foyer, by the Box Office
Free entry (but pre-booking is essential): through Eventbrite

Join Katie Day, the Artistic Director of The Other Way Works, and Elise Facer-Childs, Doctoral Researcher working at the University of Birmingham on circadian rhythms and human performance, in a discussion of the scientific concepts behind the show, and discover why the subject matter is even more relevant as we re-tour the show in 2015.

 

The making of Black Tonic: Where technology meets a theatre adventure in a hotel (Bristol)

Lunchtime Talk: Friday 2nd October 1-2pm
Venue: Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed, Bristol
Free entry, more details here

In this Lunchtime Talk, Artistic Director of The Other Way Works and Pervasive Media Studio resident Katie Day will take us behind the polished hotel exterior and spill the beans on what its like to create and produce an interactive theatre production in an operational hotel.
Katie has been collaborating with Watershed’s Creative Technologist David Haylock to build a magical card table interface for the 2015 tour, and we’ll discuss the research, design and implementation of this and other technologies employed in the production.

Black Tonic Bristol tickets on sale at Watershed

September 12, 2015 by

Booking is open for Black Tonic 2015 in Bristol

In Bristol Black Tonic is presented in partnership with Watershed, and performed at The Grand Hotel, our Official Bristol Hotel Partner.

Tue 29th September – Sat 3rd October
6.30pm | 7.45pm | 9pm
Tickets: £45 (one ticket admits two people), Concessions available

NB: Tickets for Black Tonic are very limited, with only 2 tickets per time slot.

Book now via Watershed
Online or call the Box Office on 0117 927 5100

Black Tonic Bradford tickets on sale at Theatre in the Mill

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Booking is open for Black Tonic 2015 in Bradford

In Bradford Black Tonic is presented in partnership with Theatre in the Mill, and performed at The Bradford Hotel, our Official Bradford Hotel Partner.

Wed 7th – Sun 11th October
6.30pm | 7.45pm | 9pm
Tickets: £20 (one ticket admits two people), Concessions available

NB: Tickets for Black Tonic are very limited, with only 2 tickets per time slot.

Book now via Theatre in the Mill
Online or call the Box Office on 01274 233200

Creating a Kickstarter Campaign – by Seb Harding

September 1, 2015 by

It’s been just over a month since we made our crowdfunding target for the 2015 tour of Black Tonic and since then we’ve had a bit of time to reflect on the successes of the campaign and consider what we’d change if we could do it all again. Overall the process has been complex, but ultimately, very rewarding.

We thought we’d share our experience by creating a quick four step run down of the factors we found most important in creating our campaign.

Doing the Groundwork

Many of the companies and individuals we spoke to whilst researching the campaign warned of the perils of beginning a hastily planned fundraiser.

We began seriously planning our campaign in November therefore giving ourselves around four months in which to develop a series of rewards, create a quirky campaign video, plan a marketing campaign (with video and written content) and organise a low key launch event.

Regardless to say we were of course working on all of this right up until we launched the campaign. It’s definitely possible to produce a campaign in a much shorter amount of time, and our obsessive attention to detail probably doesn’t help, but we can’t stress enough how many hours go into creating a slick successful fundraiser.

Make sure you have budgeted for everything!

We’re pretty sure someone is reading this and thinking “Surely a Crowdfunder is about raising money, not losing it” but the reality can be quite a very different picture.

To begin with, lets consider the rewards. Admittedly you won’t have to physically create anything before you make your target but once you do you’re effectively tied down to deliver all you’ve promised. The reality of how much you may have to spend (don’t forget person hours) could take a large chunk from the amount you raise if you have failed to factor in all the costs.

As our production of Black Tonic has relatively small numbers of audience members we couldn’t just give tickets away in the lowest, and most popular, tiers. This meant we had to devise attractive rewards that linked to the show but could also stand alone as attractive offers to any indecisive backers.

If, on the other hand, most of your rewards are a direct result of the project you’re fundraising then you may think it’s a relatively simple affair. Though don’t forget if, for instance, you give away 50% of tickets to your show but are also relying on high ticket revenue you could end up losing money overall.

Don’t underestimate how much content you will create for Social Media 

Before you begin any plans for marketing your campaign it’s worth bearing in mind that your audience will possibly have to come into contact with your project at least three times before they actually part with their money. The sheer amount of Social Media content that successful campaigns have to create is pretty much uncontested but the route you take to present your message can be incredibly inventive. For our campaign we created content such as Video endorsements, behind the scenes videos plus an in depth blog on the research process behind the production we were trying to fund.

See it as a project in itself and enjoy it!

The process of creating a crowdfunding campaign is very similar to that of creating any small public facing project. Therefore it is important to see the campaign as an extension of your creative output and not separate to it. If you can think creatively about the project video, campaign visuals and backer rewards your audiences are far more likely to get on board. Try to invest as much personal interest in the campaign and the whole process will hopefully become both more attainable and enjoyable.

There’s so much we could write about concerning our crowdfunding experience but we’ll stop before we bore you! Hopefully these tips might come in use if you’re thinking about creating your own fundraiser, and if so, we’d love to hear from you. 

If you haven’t done so already why not follow us on Twitter or like our Facebook page.

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