Richard Whiteley Throughout his life-long association with Giggleswick, Richard was involved with creativity and performance. As a pupil he worked with his English Master, Russell Harty, to produce plays such as the Merchant of Venice. In the 1980’s as a friend of the School he took time out of his TV schedule to “carry the bags” with touring performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Boyfriend. As a Governor he passionately believed in developing a theatre at Giggleswick. Richard’s last gift to the School has inspired those he has left behind to plan to make his vision a reality. Act I: The need for the theatre The School’s existing theatre provision is insufficient and does not reflect the high standards of the School. The current drama space is the School Hall. Fondly known as Big School, this century-old structure is now unable to meet the needs of our pupils, either as a performance space or place for the whole school to gather. The completion of the new sports hall in autumn 2007 presents the opportunity to convert the former sports hall and surrounding facilities into a permanent 300-seat theatre. The new venue will be a state of the art performance space served by professional quality technical facilities. The auditorium will have excellent acoustics for drama, music and lectures. Retractable seating will ensure the space retains flexibility for performance and other uses. Act II: Quality of Music, Drama and the Performing Arts Academically, drama is one of the School’s strongest subjects. Since the appointment of Drama Director Gareth Warburton in 2002, 100% of pupils have achieved A-B grades at A-level in the subject. Each year a number of pupils are accepted to one of only a hundred or so places by the National Youth theatre. This remarkable achievement reflects a rich vein of talent in the School. Over the past 40 years pupils have performed in many outstanding theatrical productions. Students have toured extensively, performing in Europe, USA, Australia and here in the UK. These tours have included many highlights, most notably performing Hamlet at Kronborg Castle, Helsingør (Elsinore) in front of a royal audience. Giggleswick School was also the first School to stage a production at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in London. These opportunities reflect Giggleswick’s strong reputation for theatre. The School also has an outstanding reputation for Musical theatre. Productions of Les Misérables, Jesus Christ Superstar and West Side Story have all been performed to critical acclaim. After performing at Giggleswick many pupils have gone on to have successful careers in the performing arts. Those who have worked stage and screen include William Gaunt, Anthony Daniels, Sarah Fox, and Jonathan Broadbent. Many others have gone on to work behind the scenes including Neil Blaikie (Cirque Du Soleil), Deborah Callan (The Globe theatre) and Linda Stewart Birch (BAFTA). Act III: A Performance Space Designed by leading consultants, Theatretech, the new auditorium will give pupils the opportunity to learn and perform in a venue of professional standard which will reflect and inspire the quality of their work. The theatre will have ample rehearsal and green room space behind the performance area. The seating will allow the auditorium to be used both as a traditional theatre and theatre in the round. This flexibility will also add to the theatre’s use as a teaching space for drama, dance and music. To reflect the strengths of the School in both drama and musical theatre, the venue will be designed to have the acoustics of a traditional lyric theatre. A semi-sprung wood floor will greatly benefit performers, while providing flexibility to those involved with backstage construction. What goes on above the stage is as crucial to modern performance as the activity on it. The new theatre will be fitted with state-of-the-art, pupil-safe catwalks to allow students to develop important technical skills. Professional quality sound and lighting equipment for performance will be complemented with cinema-quality projection equipment to facilitate screenings and public lectures. New public foyer space will be created around the auditorium. This will be used to showcase past School productions, as well as having the ability to host exhibitions relevant to current work. Act IV: The Heart of the School A sense of community is essential to the ethos of Giggleswick School. The theatre will be a focal point for that community. During term time the theatre will house assemblies, debates and lectures alongside the performing arts. Just as the existing Big School served as an assembly hall for previous generations, the new theatre will enable the whole School to meet regularly. The retractable seating which enables theatre in-the-round will also make the room suitable for many other purposes including events, displays and examinations. Outside of term, the theatre will make Giggleswick an excellent location for conferences. The theatre will include the redevelopment of the former Big School as a sixth form study centre. This exciting new space will provide a number of small group teaching areas, perfect for the discussion based learning that is at the heart of our A-level teaching. A new mezzanine floor will create an area for one to one tuition which is central to Giggleswick’s ability to tailor each pupil’s learning experience to their needs. ACT V: Audience Participation The wider audience The theatre will provide a valuable resource for the Craven area. Within the region there are a number of small venues, but few with the theatre’s capacity and technical facilities. The School will work with a number of external partners during the design and construction of the venue to ensure it is suitable for use by external performance groups. Giggleswick School has a good track record of sharing facilities with local people. With your support we can create a theatre for the 21st century that will be a resource for the local community, as well as a valuable educational tool for the School. The Challenge The total cost of the project will be £2m. The School is looking to fund this project from a number of sources including the Giggleswick School Foundation. The Foundation will embark on a fundraising campaign in 2008 to support this project. Tax effective giving in the UK Giggleswick School is a registered charity. Gifts to the School can be increased in value by up to 40% through the Gift Aid scheme. During the fundraising campaign, tax efficient giving such as Gift Aid, Share Giving and gifts in kind will be promoted in order to maximise the value of gifts to the School. Recognition and acknowledgment Giggleswick has a long history of philanthropic support. Gifts made to support the theatre will continue that tradition. All those who make a gift to the campaign will be listed, alphabetically, in the entrance to the theatre. There will be the opportunity for those who have made larger gifts to be recognised within the auditorium, or through a variety of naming rights.