PERFORMANCE groups were able to take centre stage on Saturday as the Arc Theatre held its first FreeFest to showcase the talents of dance and theatre enthusiasts across Wiltshire.
Hundreds turned out to the inaugural festival organised by the Trowbridge theatre which saw a number of groups hold performances and workshops including internationally renowned Mi Flamenco, Characters Stage Company and ALW School of Dance, Stagecoach Trowbridge, Trowbridge Players and 4 Stars Dance Company and A Star Theatre.
Rich Wigley, theatre manager, first came up with the idea before Christmas in hope of offering something different to local groups.
He added: “As it was the first time we have done the event, it was quite an experiment and we weren’t prepared for the amount of people that came through the door.
“The day was so much fun and the kids got a lot out of it because it was a chance for them to perform on stage for free.
“At the next festival we hope to include our media and art students to hopefully make it a bigger event and attract even more people.”
Due to the festival’s unprecedented success, the Arc Theatre hope to make FreeFest a quarterly event to further their work in promoting performance arts in the wider community.
Mr Wigley added: “Something we really want to do with the Arc Theatre is focus on youth performances and we feel that we are a central hub for a lot of groups in Wiltshire. We do not receive any funding from the Arts Council and we want to allow young people to get on stage for free, enabling them to perform in front of their parents or grandparents at the first opportunity.
“We want to invest in local talent in Wiltshire particularly youth productions and theatre for young people which in turn, we hope, will help our Performance Arts course to grow.
“The FreeFest was a great advert for the groups as well as the Arc Theatre itself and our BTEC Performing Arts students who performed a short preview of their upcoming show Guys and Dolls on the day.”
To get involved with the next Arc FreeFest, contact theatre@arctheatre.org.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here