Creative Magic Holiday Workshop by Come you Spirits

Join the creators of acclaimed international touring theatre troupe Come you Spirits for a unique creative collaboration, bringing together a myriad of art forms for a week of joy, play and expression! 

The workshop is a hub for young creatives and includes all art forms not just drama. Students come with their creative preference in mind - acting, dancing, writing, comics, singing, drawing, film-making, painting, large format backdrops, sewing, stand up comedy…whatever it is! And we all collaborate on a single project, sharing skills, learning new skills, warming up and getting the creative energy buzzing... then we get making magic, weaving all of these skills together. All under the guidance of professional industry workers propelling towards a unique showcase for family and friends on the Friday afternoon. 

Held in the second week of the school holidays 2-6th October, the workshop is held at the Come you Spirits rehearsal studio in Alexandria. Our creative space full of props, costumes, art, scenery and scripts to get inspired. Students can either do a single day for $100 or the full week for $500 Monday - Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm (before and after care available for an additional $15 ph).  

As a bonus….our Alexandria rehearsal studio is just next door to Yuilli’s Brews and we have a families table reserved for dinner and drinks after the showcase for an end of week celebration. Woohoo!

Come you Spirits are known for creating 'magic' with their repertoire of Shakespeare plays, performing to critical acclaim from Academics, Theatre reviewers, Students and Dignitaries, and have received a Commendation in the NSW Parliament. They are a small troupe of award winning artists responsible for all creative aspects of their work. The troupe tour like a rock band and have performed in Stonehenge, Esperance WA, the Coal Loader tunnels in Waverton Sydney, in the Haven Amphitheatre in Castlecrag, the Southern Swan Tall Ship sailing Sydney Harbour, Queens Gardens Townsville QLD, Marvell Hall Gardens Byron Bay, the Brunswick Picture House in Brunswick Heads, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, the Willow Globe in UK, The Dell in the UK, a riverbank at St Albans regional NSW and an open field in Kangaroo Valley NSW - and they now offer an invaluable experience to bring out the best in young people. 

This workshop will see the students exploring all aspects of expression and learning physical, vocal and creative thinking skills for performance and life. 

“Come you Spirits will take you to a place just between the human and the ethereal, to demonstrate just how close we are through language and our connection to the natural world. Utterly indistinguishable from magic.” - Theatre Travels

"The moonlight performance was just magic. The costuming and acting were brilliant and the acoustics were extraordinary. The community can be very grateful to have such stunning cultural experiences.” - Commendation in NSW Parliament with a Community Recognition Statement by MP Tim James

"This is next-level experiential theatre. One of the best theatrical and outdoor adventure experiences you can possibly have in this or any other city." - City Hub

“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Shakespeare but not as you know it...The troupe had done the work for us, so all we needed to do was show up. Nourishment for the eyes, ears, nose and tongue and offered a weight off the heart and kinship with your fellow human beings.” - Arts Hub

“Minimalized cast, delivers maximized SHAKESPEARE. Highly Recommended. Magnificently performed by 4 outstanding actors.” - Sydney Arts Guide

“The performers are wonderful storytellers, utilising the energy of the audience and environment to provide a connection to language and the powerful soundscape is designed to be a whole-body experience. I found the performances to be spiritual and engaging. I was impressed with the passion and energy of the performances and completely mesmerised by the experience.”- Stage Whispers

"Come You Spirits are a theatre company with a difference. Not only do they offer strong, sharp performances of Shakespeare’s works (in well-paced productions), but they also engage uniquely with the space around them, and offer audiences an experience designed to enhance their connection to nature and wellbeing. They are making innovative steps in ecological or environmental theatre, and their site-specific work is spectacular. They are also generous practitioners who were much valued participants at our recent ‘Ecological Shakespeare in Performance’ conference at James Cook University.” - Dr Claire Hansen, Lecturer in English at the Australian National University

 "Come You Spirits put the rhythms of Shakespeare's language in tune with the frequencies of nature and the elements, breathing new life into words and characters with which we have become too familiar. Enthralled by these performers in a production pared back to bare essentials, I found myself finding Shakespeare made new again as if by alchemy.” - Professor Laurie Johnson, QLD university, President, Australian and New Zealand Shakespeare Association

MORE ABOUT THE COMPANY:

The acclaimed company style amplifies the magic contained in Shakespeare's plays and celebrates the wonders and mysteries of the natural world reminding us that we all have superpowers. We draw on Ancient Wisdom from around the globe to support the storytelling and to connect the audience. 

The pace is fast, colourful, bursting with energy and physically dynamic with the story told in 1.5 hours by the troupe of 4 actors.

The soundscape used in all the shows has been originally composed by Brandon Read and is attuned to the natural frequencies of the body and of nature and is supported by a selection of Indian, Tibetan and African sound healing instruments played live. 

The four professional actors in the troupe are Charles Mayer, Jo Bloom, Sontaan Hopson and Ciarán O'Riordan and all hold a Working With Children Check and have many years experience working with children to bring out their magic.