During this Fringe season, we look at some theatre groups that have used our studios as their rehearsal space. As not-for-profit theatre & dance companies are close to our heart, we offer them substantial discounts.
Kt Simpson, Copperdollar’s Director & Studio Manager, is also a performer with a background in street theatre. She has created shows for numerous festivals, including Glastonbury, and was one of the UK’s first silk artists. This is why supporting not-for-profit theatre companies is so ingrained in Copperdollar’s ethos. We also offer discounts for students and charities. Our studios are the perfect rehearsal space for this year’s Fringe.
Image by Moose Azim
Our studios are in Kemptown, very near to the Warren, Spiegeltent and other Fringe sites. If you live in Brighton or if you’re just in town to perform, you can rehearse very close to the venues the day before your show. Many companies find this helpful to do a final run through and get in the zone.
However, other companies like the Cry Havoc have used our studios to block scenes and practise movement. So whatever stage you’re at, it’s good to have a space to play with.
Cry Havoc
Cry Havoc used the studio to rehearse their roles ready in preparation for their performance at The Kings Head Theatre in London a couple of years back. They also spent that time developing their piece to suit Brighton Fringe and then Edinburgh. They loved the studios’ size & aesthetic, describing it as a “Rustic and ideal for the backdrop of our play.” They praised the studios’ location, saying “we will always use the studios for everything we do if we can as it’s so convenient.” The theatre company is co-ordinated by Artistic Director, Claudine Sinnett, who has worked in many UK theatres and also the Edinburgh Festival and Brighton Fringe.
The Long & Short of It
Another theatre company, The Long & Short of It, used our studios for rehearsals to audition and rehearse their upcoming Brighton Fringe play, titled ‘The Watercolour Woman’. Just before pausing in March 2020, the theatre company even used the studio as a recording booth for actors to record lines of dialogue that will be used in the play’s musical score. They said “It’s been really exciting to have started this process from the ground up in one solid, set location.”
When discussing the space, the company said “We have loved working in the studio! It has had the exact right levels of space and privacy that we’ve needed, and is also really versatile for different scenes with different cast sizes. The studio quickly became a home for us and we’re very keen to get back to it!”
Mana Dance Company
This year, we have Colette & Georgia from Mana Dance Company rehearsing in our studio. This is for their upcoming show at the Fringe on the 22nd of June, at the Spiegeltent. Click here for tickets to their event.
They are a contemporary, Brighton-based dance company. In collaboration with Mr Bongo, they are “celebrating the re-emergence of live dance and music.” In their own words, the contemporary dance choreographers, Colette Kite and Georgia Marshall, are “celebrating identity and the spirit of community through ritualistic movement and rhythms” allowing their audience to “reflect on the recent challenges, unite and groove together.”
If you are a dance or theatre company, a student or a charitable organisation, email us at info@copperdollarstudios.co.uk to hire our studios at a really affordable rate. If you’re performing at Fringe this year, be sure to hire our studios as your rehearsal space! Check out our availability and enquire for more information.
We aim to help groups as much as we can in reaching their creative potential so let us know what you’re working on.
