Information Regarding Conronavirus

Circomedia Covid update 10/02/2022

 

· Circomedia asks that all those attending performances continue to wear masks while in the auditorium or walking around the building (unless under 12 or medically exempt).

· We continue, also, to operate at a lower capacity than previously to allow more space between audience members. While social distancing is no longer required under the guidance, we ask everyone to respect the choices of those who continue to prefer to keep their distance

· Our student protocols remain in place, to seek to prevent transmission of the virus amongst those studying and amongst staff

· We ask all our staff to test regularly and wear masks when moving around either site, or when working front of house and in the bar

· Additional cleaning of all public spaces is taking place

· Please remember to keep washing or sanitizing your hands

· Please do not attend any performance, class or other activity if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been told to self-isolate

Update June 2021

In line with Step 3 of the Government roadmap, Circomedia is open for performances again, adding to the programme of fomal courses and youth circus set out below. As a covid-safe venue, we are committed to keeping everyone safe who visits us.

Please find all the information you need on what we’re doing to keep you safe and what to expect on your visit with us.

Our safety measures

· Advanced booking online

· Group bookings of 6 or less, with 1 or 2 households

· Reduced capacity with a socially distanced seating plan

· One way system with clear signage

· Queue management to keep everyone 2m distanced

· Hand sanistiser stations

· Face coverings will be worn at all times, unless exempt or eating/drinking

· Contactless payments encouraged

· Enhanced cleaning regime

· Ventilation of space

· Staff will wear masks and participate in regular testing.

What you can do to keep others safe

Please do not come to the venue if you or others in your household are unwell and have symptoms of coronavirus (continuous cough, fever, loss of smell or taste) or if you have been in contact with someone who has symptoms. Stay at home and get a test. Book online for up to 6 people from one or two households

Use NHS Track and Trace or give your details on arrival, as per government guidance

Follow our one way system and keep a safe distance from others. Our friendly stewards will help find your way and stay safe

Use the hand sanitiser provided

Wear a mask at all times in our venue, unless you are exempt

Children must be supervised at all times by their adults to keep them a safe distance from others.

Reduced Audience

We are working within the Step 3 rules to provide you with socially distanced seating and will have fewer audience members.

Online bookings can be made for single seats or for groups of 2 or 4 people, from one or two households.

Face Coverings

Unless you are exempt, we ask our audiences and staff to keep masks on at all times when inside the building, including during the performance.

When the audience is seated, masks can be removed to enjoy food and drink.

Social Distancing

Our queuing system will be socially distanced at 2m.

A one way system is in place and our friendly stewards will be on hand to help you find you way and remain socially distanced from others.

NHS Track and Trace

As per government guidance each person must provide name and contact details on entering the venue. There will be a QR code to scan on your mobile using the NHS Track and Trace app.

If you are unable to use the NHS Track and Trace app, you will be required to give your name, email and contact number. We will only keep these details for 21 days, as per government guidance, to help trace any positive case of coronavirus at our venue.

Hygiene

Enhanced and regular cleaning of toilets and common areas like foyers and walkways will be carried out throughout your visit.

Please use the hand sanitiser stations throughout the venue.

Arriving at the event

Please leave plenty of time to arrive, visit the bar, and find your seats. Our doors will be open from 7pm, the show starts at 7.30pm sharp. While we’ve done our best to minimise waiting times, you may still need to queue to ensure that everyone can enter the building safely, so please arrive early if you can.

The bar will not be open during or after the performance so please make sure you’ve purchased all drinks in advance.

During the event

Please remain seated during the event where possible and keep interactions within your group.

Please refrain from loud cheering during the show and use clapping to show your enthusiasm.

If you need to move around follow the one way system or speak to our staff who will be happy to help.

Leaving the event

We ask you to remain in your seat at the end of the event and our friendly stewards will guide you out of the venue in the safest way possible. This is to ensure your safety when leaving the event and avoid overcrowding throughout the venue.

In the event of an emergency, our stewards will direct you to the nearest safe exit via the main and side building doors. Your exit may be different to the way you came in, so please remain calm, follow instructions, and wear your mask.

Update: 30 April 2021

We are delighted to have all BTEC, FDA, BA, MA and Vocational students back training at both our sites. Our FDA students recently presented live-streamed Final Major Projects to an enthusiastic and wide-reaching online audience, and we look forward to more successful streamed performances this term.

We ran a successful Easter Youth Circus Camp for 90 students during the school holidays, and have now commenced our Summer Term with our full cohort of 320+ students returning to regular after-school classes. Our Summer Camp is now also onsale.

We are also pleased to welcome back our outdoor bar, which reopened on 16 April 2021 and will be open on select weekends – check upcoming dates here.

Our Events team are now taking enquiries for space hire – get in touch with them here.

We won’t be restarting our Adult Classes on 17 May due to timetabling restrictions, but hope to return in the summer with a comprehensive programme – find out more on our Adult Classes pages.

Update: 1 March 2021

Following the latest Government announcement (22 Feb 2021), we are delighted to be making our own plans for gradually reopening our spaces in line with the roadmap out of lockdown. All activities will take place following updated Covid-Secure protocols, and making use of regular testing of students and staff where possible:

8 March 2021: All BTEC, FDA, BA, MA, and Vocational students will return to face-to-face teaching at our Portland Square and Kingswood sites. Find out more about our Academy courses here.

12 April 2021: Easter Youth Circus Camp 2021 will take place at Circomedia Kingswood (Mon 12 – Fri 16 April 2021). The camp will run in a similar to our Covid-Secure Summer Camp 2020 and booking is now open.

19 April 2021: Regular after-school Youth Circus clubs will return at both sites. Find out more about regular classes here.

We are currently looking at scheduling indoor events subject to restrictions lifting from May 2021 onwards. If you would like to get in touch about hiring our space, take a look here.

We will update this page with more information on adult recreational classes, performances, and other activities, when we have this information.

 

Update: 5 January 2021

Following the announcement of a third national lockdown, all public classes are sadly cancelled for at least the first half of Spring term. We hope to restart our Youth Circus classes at the end of February – all current bookers will be notified by email when we know more.

Our Academy team continues to work exceptionally hard to deliver a robust teaching programme online for all BTEC, FDA, BA, Vocational & MA students. Students will return to in-person teaching as soon as it is safe to do so, and are once again proving their resilience and commitment in adapting to these further restrictions.

Update: 18 December 2020

We look forward to reopening our doors in January 2021! Our Academy students will return to blended online and in-person training, and our regular Youth Circus classes will restart from 4th January onwards.

Our Academy students finished this calendar year on a positive note with some fantastic streamed performances, more of which we hope to broadcast in the new year.

We have made the decision not to run Adult Classes straight away in January 2021 as our Kingswood site remains in Tier 3, and we wish to be extra vigilant following the festive rule relaxation period. We hope to restart this programme in some form very shortly, and will update our website accordingly.

Update: 26 November 2020

During Tier 3 restrictions, Circomedia’s Academy will continue to operate as normal. Our public class programme (Adult & Youth classes) and public events will be on hold until further notice.

Update: 1 November 2020

During the national lockdown from 5 November – 2 December 2020, Circomedia’s Academy will continue – this includes all BTEC, FDA, BA, MA and Vocational classes.

All public classes, shows, and events have been paused or postponed.

Adult Circus classes and Youth Circus classes will resume in January 2021, restrictions allowing – all bookers will be contacted in advance.

Update: 18 September 2020

Adult and Youth Circus Classes

We are really excited to announce the phased return of our Adult Classes and Youth Circus public programme from 21 September 2020. We have worked extensively over the summer to reimagine how our venue can offer circus classes in a safe and Covid secure way. This has meant changes to both the classes we offer and how they are run, and it’s important for us to be clear and transparent about how we will now be running the space and what changes you can expect to see.

Both our Youth and Adult Class student numbers have been reduced, and the classes that we offer have also been scaled back to ensure we can run them safely. Our Youth Circus is following guidance from OOSS (Out Of School Settings) and NYA (National Youth Agency), and our Adult Classes will be abiding by the ‘Rule of 6’, with a tutor being included in the 6.

Each week the following classes will be running:

Portland Square
9 Youth Circus Classes
6 Adult Classes

Kingswood
3 Youth Circus Classes
6 Adult Classes

Unfortunately due to the current situation and our need for a phased return, we are currently unable to offer the following:

Drop-In Training Sessions
Adult Taster Sessions
Youth Circus Taster Sessions
Beginners’ Aerial Classes
Family Workshops
Parent & Toddler Classes
No Weekend Classes until at least November

How Will Equipment Be Shared?
The only equipment that will be shared between different areas of our schools are the wipeable safety mats and roll mats, and the wipeable trapezes and aerial hoops.

The Youth Circus, Adult Classes, Higher Education courses, and BTEC will all have their own independent supply of equipment for their students.

Monitoring and Tracking
As practiced with our Summer Youth Circus Camp we will be carefully monitoring, rotating, and quarantining our equipment when needed. Students will be working in bubble groups within classes that will remain the same week after week so we can continue to accurately trace who has been in contact with whom.

Additionally parents, carers, and friends will no longer be allowed to enter the premises while Youth and Adult students are attending a class unless given authorisation beforehand.

Additional Cleaning
Finally, as can be expected we will be frequently cleaning touch points, toilets, and communal areas in our studios before, during, and after any classes. This is in addition to the general cleaning of the equipment and mats. To aid with this, class duration has also been reduced across all public classes to allow for cleaning to take place between one group leaving, and another entering.

We hope that this information has helped to answer any questions or concerns you may have had about our public classes starting back. If you would like to read a more detailed breakdown of our policies and procedures you can find our Youth Circus policies here, and our Adult Class policies here. We’re really excited to be welcoming you back to our studios.

If you have any questions about our public classes programme, please let us know at classes@circomedia.com.

Hires & Events

Large scale hires have come to a halt this year given the circumstances; however, this has not stopped us holding some special supper events throughout Autumn. We will be diversifying the hires offer and have some exciting plans for regular supper events and an outdoor bar for Spring/Summer 2021. The events will be carefully planned so that all necessary safety requirements will be met to make sure people can relax have a good time in a safe setting. Find out more about upcoming events and hire.

Academy

The academic year has officially begun and we want to assure our community that the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff, and the quality of the education we provide in these exceptional circumstances remains our utmost priority.

We have been working hard to assess and evaluate our resources, and feel confident in our ability to offer a safe learning environment, in line with government guidance and sector- wide consultation to date. We are committed to proactively review and adapt our regulations and practice throughout the year. This means that we can do our utmost to deliver the best possible courses that conditions allow.

Although the courses may look and feel a little different, as we head into the Autumn term, as always, our main focus is to create a safe and inclusive space where our students can discover their physical, emotional and creative potential and unlock the transformative possibilities of circus.

Update: 26 August 2020

Circomedia is now planning the gradual reopening of its sites and activities from September 2020 onwards. You can read about our plans for the Academy below (statement from 17 June 2020).

Our public Adult & Youth Circus classes programmes are also due to start in September 2020. We are currently finalising details, and there will be changes to our timetable and to our normal class processes – a public update will be released as soon as possible. Regular bookers will be contacted directly via email.

Following the success of our Summer Youth Circus Camp 2020 where we delivered two weeks of Covid-secure, socially distanced circus activities for 120 children, we are confident in our plan to restart safe and engaging public classes in line with current Government guidance.

Update: Statement issued 17 June 2020

At CIRCOMEDIA we believe in creating transformational experiences that change the way people view and experience circus. Covid-19 and physical distancing have challenged us all to teach, learn and present contemporary circus and physical theatre in new ways. Our staff and students, across all of our formal and informal courses, have risen to that challenge and shown energy and imagination in continuing to innovate and create in a virtual environment throughout the summer term.

We are now planning for the start of the next academic year. In September we aim to re-open both our Kingswood and Portland Square sites. Teaching will be a combination of virtual and in-person, with the balance between the two being adjusted according to government and NHS guidance on physical distancing and our own reviews of our practice.

We are, of course, very aware of the physical and social nature of our artform and will make every effort to ensure that there is as much practical, hands-on learning and access to equipment as possible. We will be working hard to ensure that this is as safe as possible, in consultation with staff and students. The timetable will be revised to accommodate smaller groups and fewer changes of studio, as well as sessions delivered with digital technologies. We will all have to acknowledge that the pattern over the next year will be different, and we have to seize the opportunity to explore new approaches of blended learning.

Performance is intrinsic to everything we do. Until it is safe to re-open our Portland Square venue for audiences, we will continue to find ways of presenting work digitally or at small scale.  As physical distancing is lifted, we will work towards reinstating our programme of student and professional performances in full.

The safety and well-being of all students and staff is our priority. We will be taking all relevant measures to maintain hygiene and will work throughout the summer to ensure that both our buildings are well prepared for the return in September. Subject to the government guidance, and our own risk assessments we anticipate that some youth circus and other informal classes will also be able to start at the same time as the diplomas and degrees. Across all areas of our activity, we are working closely with the wider circus and performance sector to explore innovative ways for delivery, research and performance. 

We will be undertaking a major block of more detailed planning from now to mid-July, including consultation with students, and will publish more details shortly after this. We are confident that the contributions of our passionate and skilled staff will ensure that the next academic year will be a rewarding and stimulating one for all associated with CIRCOMEDIA.

 

PREVIOUS UPDATE 4pm 4th May 2020

Like many arts organisations, Circomedia has adapted its normal output and working methods significantly in line with the current UK lockdown and government advice. Circomedia’s priority is first and foremost the health and wellbeing of our students, staff and visitors, and as a result our buildings continue to be closed for the foreseeable future. However, we continue to run many elements of our contemporary circus output in a reimagined, digitally-driven manner, and we are delighted to still be connecting with our community in many ways.

The response we have received from the Circomedia community has been phenomenal. From supportive messages to donating leftover class fees and even setting up regular monthly donations, our students, visitors and supporters are all generously helping to secure the future of Circomedia.

Like many small arts charities, Circomedia has lost many streams of income as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. We are so grateful for the support shown to us already, but we will be heavily reliant on donations more than ever in the coming months. If you can support Circomedia in any small way please consider visiting our donations page. You can also email info@circomedia.com if you would like to discuss other donation options.

You can see a summary of what’s happening with our Academy, Shows programme, Adult & Youth Circus Classes, and Hires below.

Circomedia Academy

• Our BTEC, FdA, BA and MA courses continue to run online. With the tremendous efforts of our course leaders, tutors and support staff we are currently delivering a near-full timetable of online classes and tutorials.
• Students have full support with their continued studies in order to complete the academic year, and assessments have been reimagined digitally in a variety of ways.
• Students are busy working on their (now virtual) end-of-year performance projects – we hope to showcase some of these publicly in the near future.
• We hope to provide the opportunity to present these performances in person, once lockdown has lifted, to public audiences once again.
• Our next round of FdA auditions is also being held online, and we continue to accept applications for September 2020 onwards.
• Students and staff are working very hard to adapt to these very challenging circumstances and we are seeing some very inventive approaches to teaching, learning, creating & performing circus in isolation. Watch this space…

Circomedia Shows Programme

• All upcoming performance have been cancelled for the remainder of the Spring 2020 season.
• All refunds have now been processed as requested – please email boxoffice@circomedia.com with any queries.
• For performances in September 2020 onwards, decisions will be made in the summer following ongoing reviews of the lockdown situation.
• Stay engaged with our social media feeds for retrospectives on our shows, and the occassional opportunity to watch content online!

Circomedia Youth Circus & Adult Classes

• We hope to restart our public Youth & Adult classes programme this Autumn. In line with current Government guidance we are confident that we can offer safe and rewarding classes for our students. We’re still finalising details, so at the moment we can’t offer more information but there may be changes to our normal programme.
• If you’re a regular booker, we’ll get in touch via email with everything you need to know about classes restarting – please check your inboxes regularly.
• We’ll let our previous bookers know via email when we have more news about upcoming classes. Anyone who opted to keep their tickets for future use will have priority booking.
• If you’re new to Circomedia, we’ll be publishing full information on how our classes will run, and how to book a space or join a waiting list, within the next few weeks. Keep an eye on our website and social media channels for updates.
• In the meantime, thanks so much for your patience – we are a small team and our capacity is considerably reduced at the moment, so we’re slower than normal responding to individual queries. We hope to welcome you to Circomedia in the near future!

 

Youth Circus Home Edition

• As soon as lockdown started, we were delighted to launch Youth Circus Home Edition – a regular series of tutorials and activities for children to do safely at home in the absence of classes. Our tutors created loads of content before they were furloughed, so we are now releasing 9 videos a week – follow our social media feeds for new releases, or check out our Home Edition page here.
• As most of our tutors are furloughed, we don’t currently have the capacity to produce tailored online resources for our Adult Class participants. However, many of our Youth Circus Home Edition videos are perfect for all ages, so we recommend checking these out to keep strong and fit at home!

Hires & Private Events

• While our buildings remain closed, we are unable to hire our spaces or host private events.
• However, you can still make enquiries by emailing events@circomedia.com. Please be aware that replies may take a little longer than usual.

We’re still here for you

We’re still here if you need us! The majority of our core staff team are working remotely and can be contacted via email or Facebook as normal – you can find full info on our Contact page or use the following email addresses:

• General Enquiries: info@circomedia.com
• Academy enquiries: admissions@circomedia.com (Open days, applications, etc. for our BTEC, FDA, BA and MA courses)
• Box Office: boxoffice@circomedia.com
• Part-Time Adult Classes: classes@circomedia.com
• Youth Circus: youthcircus@circomedia.com
• Hires & Events: events@circomedia.com

Supporting Circomedia

As you may know, Circomedia is a registered charity with a small core team and limited resources. Like many small arts charities, the current crisis is impacting heavily on our resources. We are asking all members of our community to consider donating to us via our website, or to donate all or some of their existing bookings back to Circomedia, in order to support us as we work through this unprecedented situation.

We appreciate that not everybody will be in a position to assist us in this way, but anything you feel you can offer is gratefully received. Your donations will go towards ensuring we can support our staff, keep our buildings running and continue to serve our community now and in the future.

You can donate online here.

We have already had a heartwarming response from many of you – we cannot thank you enough for your unwavering support at a time when it is needed most. Please do stay engaged – and contact us if you need to – and we will continue to offer as much as we possibly can to help everybody through this situation.

Best wishes,
The Circomedia Team

2pm
Friday 20 September 2019
South Wing Studio, Circomedia Kingswood, BS15 8DB

To launch the new book, Contemporary Circus (Routledge) there will be a talk and panel discussion with two of the book’s editors: Professor Patrick Leroux, Concordia University, Montreal and Jon Burtt, Macquarie University, Australia. They will be joined by Firenze Guidi, director at No Fit State and Charlotte Mooney, Co-director of Ockham’s Razor.

Please book your free place below.

Festival season is almost over but don’t worry, we have a full season of shows for you to look forward to. Doing what we do best, we continue to bring CIRCUS, DANCE, THEATRE & FAMILY SHOWS to the heart of Bristol. As ever, we’re giving you early birds to make savings with discounted prices available on a range of shows.

This season we are exciting to be hosting a programme of shows in collaboration with Bristol Circus City, the biennial Circus festival celebrating innovative, contemporary circus from across the globe!

See the full list of shows here >>

We regret to inform you that due to the poor weather conditions in Bristol we are forced to cancel tomorrow’s Open Day (Saturday 2nd February). Conditions around the Kingswood Estate are potentially dangerous and the site managers have taken the decision to keep the entire site closed all weekend.

Our sincerest apologies to everyone who booked on to the day, we will reschedule the event for another time in the future.

If you have any questions please contact Jade Trendall at jadet@circomedia.com or call us on 0117 947 7288.

UPDATE

Jade Trendall will be at the site at 10.30am tomorrow morning to meet with anyone who has already made the trip to Bristol. We’re aware some peope will have travelled in advance and we don’t want your journey to be waste.  Please note this won’t be a full bells and whistles Open Day but Jade can show you around the facilities and answer your questions.

This is Ashley’s Event.

To apply for a place on the Vocational Course beginning September 2021, please complete the form below.

If you have any questions, or you would like to find out about our Open Days please email admissions@circomedia.com

We will contact you by email no later than one week after your submission to confirm we have received your application. If you do not hear back within that time please contact admissions@circomedia.com.  Successful applicants will then be invited to an audition.

Applications for our BTEC 2021/22 course are now open. Anyone with an interest in joining the country’s only two year BTEC course in circus and theatre this September should apply by the 14th June 2021. It is important to note that this course is fully funded by the government for learners under the age of 19 years. If you are ages 16 – 18 then don’t miss the opportunity to take advantage of our fully-funded BTEC course. If you have any queries or want to find out more about the course or funding, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our admissions team at admissions@circomedia.com

We will contact you by email no later than one week after your submission to confirm we have received your application. If you do not hear back within that time please contact us.

Applications will be reviewed by the Course Leader, after which you will receive an email letting you know if you’ve been accepted to attend an audition.

Virtual Auditions

We are now accepting applications for our virtual auditions for entry in September 2021. Once you have submitted your application you should receive a confirmation within a week that it has been received, and we will keep in touch with you about the auditions process. You can read more about our auditions here.

FRI 16 Feb – SAT 24 Feb, £17/£12

EVENING – 7.30pm

MATINEES SAT 17, THU 22, SAT 24 – 2.30pm

The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays and one of his most controversial.

Generally considered as a broad farce that leaves a bad taste in the mouth, it is in fact one of the darkest and most complex of all the plays written in England in the 1590s, with an extraordinary structure quite unlike almost any other play of the period.

It is about a group of people watching a play. A play that becomes increasingly relevant to their own lives the longer they watch it, becoming more deeply involved scene by scene in ways they could not possibly have imagined.

They are to learn about the strangeness and unpredictability of love, the mystery of living purely in the moment and the magical, transformative nature of theatre itself.

In the extraordinary setting of St Paul’s Church, Circomedia, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School aim to bring you a production that will radically alter your view in this subversive but enlightening masterpiece by the young Shakespeare.

Tickets are available online from www.oldvic.ac.uk or by ringing their boxoffice on 0117 973 3955