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February half-term 2012

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 19 January, 2012

This half-term, The Playing Space will once again be running its celebrated school-holiday drama workshops. Workshops run for four days from Tuesday 14 to Friday 17 February 2012.

Owing to popular demand, we are now catering for a wider age-range, with Foundation workshops (Year 3–Year 6) in addition to our much-loved Introductory workshops (Reception–Year 2).

For younger students, Introductory workshops run at our lovely drama studio at Southgate Green, N14. Morning workshops run from 10am–1pm and include a lunch break. Afternoon workshops run from 2pm–5pm and include a snack break.

For older students, Foundation workshops run at the delightful Baskervilles Tea Shop, Aldermans Hill, N13. Workshops begin at 2.30pm and end at 5.30pm. Parents with children in both groups will have time to drop the younger sibling at the Studio before making the short journey with the older sibling to Baskervilles Tea Shop.

Baskervilles tea Shop is offering students at that venue a drink, a sandwich, a piece of fruit and a slice of one of their amazing cakes for £4. (Students may of course bring their own snack if preferred.)

You can find out more details about the upcoming half-term workshops on our school holidays page.

Feedback from our Christmas 2011 workshops was resoundingly positive! They were described as “very inspiring”, “a wonderful experience” and “a brilliant week”. So don’t hesitate: book now before spaces run out! Here are details of how to contact us.

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New Movers and Shakers class for babies

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 19 January, 2012

Owing to popular demand, The Playing Space is delighted to announce the launch of a new babies-only Movers and Shakers class at Highgate Library.

The new class will take place on Thursdays from 11.45am to 12.15pm. The first class is on Thursday 2 February.

You can use our fantastic online booking system to reserve a place for your child in the new class at Highgate Library or any of our other Movers and Shakers sessions.

Classes take place in libraries, children’s centres and other venues across North London.

Most Movers and Shakers sessions are for mixed groups of babies and toddlers. However, the following sessions are also for babies only (click to book a place):

We also run two sessions for toddlers only:

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Movers and Shakers at Campsbourne

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 4 January, 2012

From January 2012, Movers and Shakers classes will move from Campsbourne Children’s Centre to Campsace Community Centre – located just around the corner at 1 Eastfield Road, N8 7AD.

Class times remain exactly the same: 9.15 am for toddlers and 10.15am for babies. We are continuing to offer the class at the same price: £2.50 per child and £1 for each additional sibling.

You can now book for both classes using our fantastic online booking system. Shortly after booking, you will receive a confirmation email, and your name will be automatically added to the register.

We look forward to seeing you all at the new venue!

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Online booking for ALL Movers and Shakers sessions

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 12 June, 2011

The Playing Space has extended its extremely popular and convenient online booking system to cover all venues hosting Movers and Shakers sessions.

You can now book online for all sessions at the following venues:

  • Palmers Green Library
  • Muswell Hill Library
  • Alexandra Park Library
  • The Old Dairy
  • Hornsey Library
  • Winchmore Hill Library
  • Stroud Green Library
  • Southgate Circus Library
  • Victoria Stakes

Have a look at our full venue list or go directly to our booking timetable.

To book, simply select a date or several dates on the calendar, then enter the number of children you are booking for and their full names. Please also provide an email address and phone number. You will receive a confirmation message on screen and also a confirmation email.

Please note that to book a session at a Children’s Centre, you need to contact the centre direct. For contact information, have a look at our list of Children’s Centres.

Movers and Shakers are music and movement sessions for 0s to 3s. Movers and Shakers sessions incorporate songs, rhymes and sign language. All children taking part have the chance to play a musical instrument, join in the parachute games, and get lost in a world of bubbles. Here’s where you can find out more about Movers and Shakers sessions.

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Summer 2011 drama workshops

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 2 June, 2011

This summer, The Playing Space will once again be running its celebrated week-long school-holiday drama workshops. Workshops take place during July and August 2011 and are suitable for ages 4–8.

As usual, a huge range of games, exercises and activities will be linked together by a theme. This summer’s themes revolve around classics of British children’s literature. At the end of the week, parents are invited into the studio to watch a short presentation.

You can find out more details about this summer’s workshops on our school holidays page.

Morning workshops run from 10am–1pm and include a short snack/toilet break and a lunch break – a picnic in the garden if the weather stays fine. Afternoon workshops run from 2pm–5pm and include one short break and one longer break. Morning children should bring a packed lunch, and afternoon children should bring a substantial snack. A bottle of water is also a very good idea. All children should wear loose comfortable clothing and shoes that they can easily put on and take off.

Feedback from last summer’s workshops was resoundingly positive! They were described as “very inspiring”, “a wonderful experience” and “a brilliant week”. So don’t hesitate: book now before spaces run out! Here are details of how to contact us.

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Book Movers and Shakers online!

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 24 May, 2011

The Playing Space is launching online booking for its enormously popular Movers and Shakers sessions.

You can now book online for all sessions at Alexandra Park Library. Sessions take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. For full details, have a look at our timetable.

To book, simply select a date or several dates on the calendar, then enter the number of children you are booking for and their full names. Please also provide an email address and phone number. You will receive a confirmation message on screen and also a confirmation email.

If all goes smoothly with online booking at Alexandra Park Library, we will offer online booking for all Movers and Shakers sessions. Please note that to book a session at a Children’s Centre, you need to contact the centre direct. For contact information, have a look at our list of venues.

Movers and Shakers are music and movement sessions for 0s to 3s. Movers and Shakers sessions incorporate songs, rhymes and sign language. All children taking part have the chance to play a musical instrument, join in the parachute games, and get lost in a world of bubbles. Here’s where you can find out more about Movers and Shakers sessions.

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Star students hit the airwaves

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 14 October, 2010

On 1 September Lucy and Stephen Spencer, two Intermediate students at The Playing Space, were asked to record a short series of radio scripts. The scripts were recorded at the Capital Radio Studios in Leicester Square and broadcast throughout September on Fun Kids Live, the national digital radio station for children.

Lucy and Stephen were thrilled to have the opportunity to put into practice some of the many valuable skills and techniques they have learnt in classes at The Playing Space. On radio as on stage, a successful performance requires a bright, flexible, well-modulated voice. Over the years, in class, in LAMDA exams and at the North London Drama festival, Lucy and Stephen have applied their vocal skills to a wide range of monologues, duologues, and verse and prose readings. But with a microphone only a couple of inches from their face, the two talented siblings had to forget everything they knew about projection!

The scripts Lucy and Stephen recorded, called “India Instants”, were informative pieces linked to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, held in India’s capital city, Delhi. They provided young listeners with some historical background to the games and their host nation. They were broadcast daily during the games.

Here are some photos of the Spencers in the recording studio. Well done, Lucy and Stephen! The Playing Space is proud of your achievement.

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Summer workshops a resounding success!

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 15 September, 2010

To meet the huge demand for places, The Playing Space ran an extended programme of holiday workshops this August. With courses running in the mornings and afternoons for three consecutive weeks, 2010 was our biggest summer yet. Each week-long drama workshop revolved around a classic tale of children’s literature and ended with an informal performance for parents.

The children (who were aged from 4 to 8) bubbled over with enthusiasm and joy. They and their parents could not praise the experience highly enough! Here are just a few of the comments we received:

“David had such a lovely time at the drama club he did with you last week, he jumped at the chance to do it again during half term.”

“I wanted to let you know that Phoebe had a fantastic time last week at drama, and is keen to do more! She honestly hasn’t stopped talking about it, and I was so pleased that she participated so well as she can be a little shy sometimes.”

“Thanks for doing such a fab week for Maddie last week. She really enjoyed it, and can’t wait to come again.”

“I wanted to say how much Louis enjoyed last week. He has talked about it lots and how much he loved it. He was delighted when I asked if he would like to do it at half term. It is a complete turnaround for Louis – his ‘I hate drama’ phase seems to have ended. It was a case of finding the right teacher, right environment and I think he has found that with you. Thank you so much.”

Places on our October 2010 half-term course are filling up fast, so contact us to reserve a place for your child.

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Students shine at the North London Drama Festival

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 11 June, 2010

Everyone who attends after-school classes at The Playing Space took part in the North London Drama Festival on 8 and 9 May 2010. Each class prepared a group acting scene, and many students also entered in other categories. Across all age groups (from 4 to 17), we had sight readers, storytellers, verse and prose readers, monologuers, duologuers, and a public speaker. Huge congratulations to everyone who took part! What an amazing achievement it is to take what festival adjudicator Stephen Joseph called “the walk of fear” – those nervous steps from a chair in the auditorium up onto a large stage in an unfamilar room, knowing that in a few moments you will have to project your voice and movements to fill that room. You try to forget that family members, friends, and hundreds of strangers are watching you and an adjudicator’s pencil is hovering. From “Santa Claws” to Molière, via “The Day I Met the Queen” and “The Grapes of Wrath”, we were enormously proud of each and every one of our students. The festival is competitive, and there were prizes galore for The Playing Space. Much more important, though, is the fact that everyone came off stage happy and exhilarated. Though often nervewracking, the experience of performing for an audience has huge benefits for a young person’s confidence.

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Half-term drama workshop “more fun than Playstation”!

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 1 March, 2010

The Playing Space’s February half-term Pinocchio workshop was praised lavishly by the children who attended, as well as by their parents. Charlie loves computer games but declared that drama at The Playing Space was “even more fun than Playstation”! Tara “absolutely loved it”, and her Mum thanked The Playing Space for making the three days “so very enjoyable”. Molly had “lots of fun”. Judy told her mother that doing drama again would be “the best treat”. Clearly others agreed – the summer holiday workshops are already filling up. So please call us now to book a place and give your child an unforgettable week of fun!

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