WORKSHOPS 2024

Shock Horror workshops with Thunder Road Theatre Company  

Uncover the devices and techniques used to create suspense and tension within horror storytelling for stage and screen, led my multi-award-winning horror makers Thunder Road Theatre Company 

Transparent Wall Hangings 

Join professional artist Jessica Hartshorn in the creation of large-scale, collaborative artwork. Drawing inspiration from nature, participants will work together to develop a design and patterns with acrylic posca pens with the finished product resulting in an impressive, large-scale piece. 

Printing 

Get creative with professional artist Jessica Hartshorn and learn a new skill with workshop exploring printmaking. Learn how to create a range of prints, from block, mono to collagraph. The workshop will focus on line, mark-making and pattern. Using printing ink and tissue paper you can create images inspired by your topic of choice. Let your creativity run free! 

Steel Band and Other World Music With Fareed Siddiqui  

Learn to play musical percussive instruments from Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean. Learn how the differing art forms originated and the cultural and historical significance of each genre. To conclude with a piece of music performed by you, the participants! 

Dance with Flawless! 

Take part in this exciting opportunity to groove with the award-winning street dance company Flawless ahead of their headline performance in our Festival on the Close Tandem Arena! This workshop is designed to give all levels an opportunity to learn various Foundation styles such as HIP HOP, HOUSE, POPPIN, LOCKIN & KRUMP from our special guests. 

Music Production 

Join Amber Music Group in a fun and unique music production workshop. Learn to create your own music by experimenting with drum machines, keyboards, samples and editing software. You can also explore song writing, with tips from artist Nicole Justice. Once you’ve created your masterpiece, you’ll also be given the opportunity to record your vocals! 

Highly Sprung - Theatre that Moves  

Join award winning Highly Sprung Performance to explore movement in this fun physical theatre skills session with lifts, movement, and creative tasks. This workshop will experiment contact work, ensemble work devising choreography and storytelling. Suitable for all abilities! 

Chemistry Show & Sci-Fi Film

Join us for this fascinating double bill exploration into the world of science – witness a fascinating and fun chemistry show featuring all sorts of chemical concoctions, and then ponder the role of science fiction in pop culture in a review of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey with Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.   

Why Shrek is the Greatest Film Ever 

Join a diverting discussion of one of pop culture’s most peculiar phenomena, Shrek! Good, Bad, or Ugly… you decide! 

Parkour! 

Always wanted to try parkour? Join this creative workshop using set and movement inspired by free running with Ascension Dance. Led by Qualified Parkour coaches using the Ascension bespoke set, participants will experience the joy of movement in these short, high-energy sessions.   

Bake-Off Rugby Real Bread - Cupcake Decoration Competition! 

Join this Bake-off inspired workshop series where each participant is provided with a cupcake, icing, and sprinkles. After an expert demonstration and planning stage, it's time for them to work their magic! Two winners from each session will receive a bespoke prize, everyone gets to take their cupcake away. 

Bake-Off Rugby Real Bread Hosts - Biscuit-Making Showdown! 

Edible art in monochrome! Each student is provided with two portions of biscuit dough - one light & one dark. What can they create? Two winners per session and a delicious biscuit guaranteed. 

Magic Workshop with Angus Baskerville 

Learn magic with a professional magician and mind reader featured recently on ITV News & Autism’s Got Talent! In this workshop, Angus will share his secrets and teach magic tricks that will captivate your friends and family; come and learn magic and it may just change your life in ways you would not have imagined! 

Neurodiverse or Naughty? The Magic of Angus Baskerville

Mind-reading and unbelievable trickery abound in this performance which explores how autism and magic make anything possible, with rising star Angus Baskerville, Magic Circle Magician. Come along and enjoy an uplifting, magical adventure of triumph over adversity - this show is an inspirational must-see for magic aficionados and neurodiverse/typical audiences alike. Angus brings the superpowers of neurodiversity to life, whilst not shying away from sharing its challenges. 

Cryptic Crosswords   

Put your logic and analytical skills to the test to crack codes and create cryptic clues in this fun workshop that explores what goes into the creation of puzzles and crosswords! 

Vamos Theatre Presents Mask Performing Workshop  

This engaging and fast-paced full mask workshop provides an introduction into mask theatre by the UK’s leading full mask Theatre Company, showing how to create characters, develop clarity in communication and devise original mask work. 

Exploring the Social Media Landscape with Sam Williams! 

Join Social Media Sensation Sam Williams to explore all things social media, comedy and digital content as he provides an insight on how to be creative and make your mark online. 

Frankenstein Physics - the reckless pursuit of scientific discovery can lead to chaos, tragedy, and despair. A talk by Nick Fisher

This workshop begins with a talk and finishes with a workshop on writing science fiction.

Arabic Calligraphy 

Delve into the amazing art of Arabic Calligraphy! Enjoy using Bamboo pens and hand-mixed inks to feel how traditional Arabic Nastaliq Calligraphy was written, and also find out a bit more of the fascinating history of Arabic Calligraphy!   

One Man Band Music Workshop – Tom Kirkpatrick! 

Put your music skills to the test with this fun musical workshop with the One-Man Band, Tom Kirkpatrick! 

Health & Well-Being – Strategies for Managing Stress and Anxiety 

We can all get a little stressed during exam season, so come and experience a little tranquility in this workshop, designed to provide practical guidance for students to manage stress, anxiety, and feelings of being overwhelmed. You will learn about guided breathwork and EFT tapping, techniques you can take away and put into practice to restore calm and balance. 

Rock Up! Drumming Tips and Tricks  

Experience world class drumming in this workshop. Each participant will sit at their own practice pad in which to play alongside the creative director of Palace Drum Clinic, Matt Green. Improve technique, practice methods, learn tricks of the trade, ending in a Q & A session. 

Aerial and Hula

Learn circus skills by flying high with aerial silks and hula hoops in this exhilarating and accessible workshop with Circus Select.  

Character design and world-building 

This drawing workshop will explore what it takes to build a world and populate it with your own cast of characters. Map out this world in this fun fantasy workshop! 

Architecture - Bridges, Maths & Design 

Brush up on your architecture skills by learning about beam, cantilever and suspension bridge types by building your own structures! Teamwork, resilience and imagination are all engaged in this popular workshop.  

Bhangra Dance 

High energy and high fun, our Bhangra classes combine the strong, festive moves of this traditional North Indian Folk style with an up-to-date edge.  

African Drumming  

Experience the exhilarating vibrations of African drums. The sizzling beats combine with the essential components of stamp, sliding dance footsteps of movement. Learn the history of these sounds and how they were used as warning sirens, songs and stories to bring alive their history in village life and traditional ceremonies within the community.     

Beatboxing   

Learn the artform of beatboxing with expert artists who will coach you to explore this fun and fascinating skill to explore percussion. This beatboxing workshop explores rhythm, introducing participants to new ways of making sounds and music, individually and in teams.  

Rapping 

Ever fancied yourself an MC? Try your hand at spitting some bars in this fun workshop exploring rap, rhythm and freestyle. Using poetry, spoken word, word association, rhyming and rapping, this workshop covers any topic you want to bring to the mic, from bullying to personal identity issues.  

Graffiti  

Are you the next Banksy? Get involved in this creative workshop that explores Graffiti Art techniques in a hands-on, inclusive session.  

Microbial Art Workshop  

Have you ever seen art created in a petri dish using living, growing microorganisms? That's agar art! Creators use either naturally colorful microbes, like the red bacteria Serratia marcescens, or genetically modified microbes to create weird and wonderful petri dish paintings! 

Paint and Glaze – Mug Workshop!   

Design your own and glaze your own mug in this fun ceramics workshop which covers the basics of pottery design. You get to keep your own mug at the end! 

Circus Skills with Motionhouse  

Learn some acrobatic partner-work with award-winning dance circus company Motionhouse in this fun, physical session. Participants will explore group work, choreography and physical skills in this collaborative and creative workshop.  

Chinese Arts 

Experience a panoply of Chinese Arts in this workshop which explores games, dancing and puppetry with a 34ft Chinese dragon! Learn how to use the dragon puppet and try dance routines inspired by Kung Fu and traditional styles.  

Bollywood Dancing 

Fuse your love for movement and drama whilst learning about the basics of Bollywood Dancing. Get ready for dramatic facial expressions and cinematic pizazz as you learn traditional movements originating from India’s numerous dance forms.    

Roller skiing 

Grab a pair of roller skates for this off-snow skiing experience around The Close. It’s cross-country skiing – without the snow! 

VR Headsets: F1 Racing Experience with Matrix Virtual Reality

Experience what racing a real life F1 car on real life tracks such as Silverstone GP and Monza feels like in this cutting-edge VR experience workshop.        

Maypole and Morris Dancing 

Maypole, Morris Dancing, and games. Learn intricate moves and dancing with our full-sized maypole. Learning folkloric English Morris dancing with the use of bells, sticks and scarfs for the ultimate traditional experience.  

Space Hopper Football 

You read that right! This riotous workshop will test your coordination and teamwork skills. Come along and get hopping mad! 

STOMP with the cast of STOMP

The cast of the international hit show STOMP are here! And they will be working with 100 young stompers for the day culminating in a unique performance on our main stage where you get to STOMP with STOMP!

Poetry with Anthony Anaxagorou

Join celebrated poet Anthony Anaxagorou in a workshop to develop your voice as a writer and poet

Ukulele!

Our very own guitar legend Mr Geoff Tooley gets you all rocking out strumming the latest hits on ukuleles (ukuleles provided, but feel free to bring your own!)

Shout Out for The Arts

An intriguing workshop from Warwickshire Cultural Education Partnership's Arts Coordinator

Shakespeare Workshop

Discover how playful Shakespeare can

be! We'll activate some of the funniest characters and most compelling scenes

from the canon and push the limits of what this 400+ year-old text can do.

SteamFest

STEM meets the Arts in this carousel festival workshop in spaces across the Collingwood Centre, includes 2 large Planetarium Domes in the CC Sports Hall, as well as a host of interactive STEM activities.