Leeds Grand Theatre and City Varieties Music Hall Student Placements Curating an exhibition in showcase Interested in the history of Leeds Grand Theatre and City Varieties Music Hall? Love exploring old theatre programmes and photographs and have an interest in how they are displayed? Interested in a career in research, archives or museums and looking for work experience? Need to complete a work placement for your university or college course? Purpose The Learning Team at Leeds Grand Theatre and City Varieties Music Hall are seeking a small group of dedicated students to curate two exhibitions in showcases at our venues. Students will work in two smaller teams, with each team focusing on either The Grand or City Varieties. The displays can focus on any area of our venues rich history, but should appeal to a range of audiences and incorporate items and documents from the venue s archive. Background to Project The Learning Team offer a comprehensive learning programme, including tours, talks, workshops and projects, for schools, colleges, universities, community groups and the public. We have an extensive archive of theatre programmes, playbills and other memorabilia that has been catalogued by a dedicated team of volunteers and is stored at West Yorkshire Archive Service in Morley. We have a small showcase front of house at both theatres displaying some items from our archive and objects relating to our history. Both showcases are accessible to the public during theatre performances and events. We are now looking for two small groups of students to create a new engaging exhibition in each showcase. The exhibitions should fit with the wider interpretation strategy of The Grand and City Varieties encouraging visitors to look more closely at the buildings and help them to imagine what the venues were like in the past. The display should encourage a sense of pride that these historic venues are in Leeds, as well as a feeling that modern visitors are part of our continuing story. The exhibition can explore any aspect of the theatres history but should appeal to all ages and backgrounds and tell a cohesive story throughout. Items from our archive can be used, but as largely paper-based items these will need to be displayed creatively to ensure an engaging display. It may also be possible to use items on loan from Artemis, the Schools Loan Service to enhance the exhibitions. What s involved? Students will work in small groups to create an exhibition for either Leeds Grand Theatre or City Varieties. Please indicate which project you are interested in on your expression of interest form. Students are expected to work as part of a team to create the showcase and allocate tasks as appropriate. Students will: Research the history of Leeds Grand Theatre or City Varieties Music Hall, using our archive, conservation documents and external sources Develop a theme for the showcase, focusing on one element of The Grand s or City Varieties history, and research in detail Select objects and archives to be displayed and decide on layout
Write text labels to accompany objects on display Install new exhibition in showcase Due to office space, research and planning for both projects will take place at both Leeds Grand Theatre and City Varieties Music Hall. Some additional research may be required off-site or at home. Support and training will be provided by the Learning Team, as required. What s in it for you? An opportunity to meet the team at Leeds Grand Theatre and City Varieties and gain an insight into life at a modern performance venue A chance to explore the extensive archives of The Grand and City Varieties and input into how this material is displayed Experience of research, exhibition design, layout and writing text Practical work experience to contribute towards university or college studies in history, design, museum studies, project management, theatre or performing arts, amongst other subjects Timescales We would like this project to be completed between January and June 2015. We anticipate the project to take approximately 70hrs which can be completed in a 2 week block or spread across a number of weeks. Exact working days of the project can be discussed with the successful students, however students working on the same project must agree to the same timescales. Expression of Interest If you are interested, please complete an Expression of Interest form and return it to Catherine Hayward at the address below. We are looking to work with a small group of students (2 or 3) on each project and if we receive more interest than we are able to accommodate we will select students based on the criteria detailed in the person specification. Successful students will be invited to attend an introductory session at Leeds Grand Theatre or City Varieties where they will have the opportunity to talk with the learning team, examine the brief in more detail and have a tour of the theatre, before agreeing a schedule of activity. Catherine Hayward Learning Officer based at City Varieties Music Hall Swan Street Leeds LS1 6LW 0113 391 7783 catherine.hayward@leedsgrandtheatre.com Deadline for expressions of interest is 5pm on Monday 8 th December 2014.
Person Specification Knowledge Essential Basic Understanding of Leeds Grand Theatre and/or City Varieties Music Hall and our history Desirable Understanding of the elements required to create an attractive and engaging display. Skills Ability to work as part of a team and on own initiative Excellent research skills, using primary and secondary sources Basic computer skills Other Enthusiasm for theatre, music hall, history, exhibition design or museums Reliability Accuracy and attention to detail Participation in project will contribute to university or college course
City Varieties Music Hall A Brief History White Swan Inn opened on the current site of City Varieties in 1762 In 1766 a small music room was added above the pub In 1865, Charles Thornton bought the White Swan, rebuilt the pub and music room and rebranded the venue as Thornton s New Music Hall and Fashionable Lounge Music Halls were much less formal venues than theatres. People would come in their work clothes, would eat and drink during the performance and often heckle the performers or even throw items at the stage if they didn t like what they saw! As music hall became less popular, owners of the City Varieties turned to lower quality variety performance and nude acts that were popular at the time 1953 Barney Colehan hosted a pilot show inspired by old-time music hall. The Good Old Days ran for 30 years and made the City Varieties famous worldwide The Varieties has hosted a hugely popular annual pantomime since the 1960s The Varieties is one of only 4 remaining music halls in the U.K. and is the only venue to have continuously operated as a music hall Famous faces that have performed on the stage include, Marie Lloyd, Lily Langtry, Charlie Chaplin, Harry Houdini and Harry Lauder, Frankie Vaughn, Ken Dodd and Barry Cryer More recently the stage has welcomed, Phil Jupitus, Nina Conti, Michael McIntyre, Dara O Briain, Elkie Brooks, Stephen K Amos and Ed Byrne. Now the venue hosts the very best in music, comedy and entertainment as well as the ever popular annual pantomime.
Leeds Grand Theatre A Brief History It is believed that the story of Leeds Grand Theatre goes back to Queen Victoria s and Prince Albert s visit to Leeds in 1858, to open the new Town Hall. Prince Albert is supposed to have remarked that what Leeds needed was a good theatre, to promote culture and raise the tone of the people. Ten worthy gentlemen took it upon themselves to create a magnificent new theatre for Leeds. The Grand Theatre opened to a full house in November 1878, with a performance of Shakespeare s Much Ado about Nothing. The Grand offered a programme of more respectable performances than those found in the traditional music halls and singing rooms. The first General Manager, Wilson Barrett described the theatre as one of the finest, if not the finest, theatre in Europe. Following a large-scale restoration project, new life has been breathed into this remarkable Victorian theatre and its beautiful original features now sit side by side with state of the art technology. Our resident companies, Opera North and Northern Ballet present performances throughout the year alongside touring West End productions and fantastic drama. Leeds Grand Theatre s Learning Team, offers an exciting, innovative programme of tours, talks, workshops and projects, for all ages. More details are available in our Learning Brochure or on our website. www.leedsgrandtheatre.com Did you know? - The Grand took 13 months to build at a cost of 62,000. - George Corson, architect of The Grand, also designed the Central Library in Leeds. - During both World Wars Leeds Grand Theatre remained open. In WWII the cellars were used as air raid shelters. - Before electricity was introduced the theatre was lit by gas lamps with 14 miles of piping connecting them all together. - The lorry lift on Harrison Street can raise 40 tonne trucks up to the scenery bridge.