Open Mic; Exit Pursued by a Bear

Come one, come all, this night will be the night!

Whether you're an experienced actor, a curious poet, a theatrical dabbler, or just someone who loves to be entertained by a room full of fabulous friendly people, Exit, Pursued By A Bear is where it's at.

After a hugely successful first night last month, EPAB will return on Shakespeare's birthday (Sunday the 23rd of April), this time at The Black Cherry Theatre Café (Boscombe, Bournemouth) with the additional bonus of an afternoon workshop to add to the fun!

Anybody can take to the stage and anything can happen... There's no casting whatsoever, no judgement, no pressure, and no restrictions due to ability/age/gender/accent. Come and play the part that you'd love to play even if you think you'd never normally get cast in the role. ESPECIALLY if you think that! This event is all about playing with Shakespeare and bringing those words to life in our own way.

Last time, we had the serious, the silly, the salacious, and the sock puppet! Anything goes.

Come prepared or wing it on the night. Learn your words or cold read a random part from one of my books. Go for a scene, speech, sonnet, or simply kick back and enjoy the show, it's up to you.

The open mic part of the event will kick off from 7pm and finish at 10pm (earlier than last time, as it's a Sunday). I will be there munching delicious Black Cherry pizza and taking sign-ups to perform (there's no pressure to, but all are welcome to) from 6pm, so come and socialise with some grub and a beer before it all kicks off.

The open mic is designed to be just that - open to all. As such, there is no fixed ticket price. You can pay what you think an evening of entertainment is worth to you. The suggested donation is £5 (aka about one 21st Century beer) but I don't want cost to be a barrier to entry for anyone in financial difficulties. You know what you can afford and what the night is worth to you. Equally, if you can afford to contribute a little more, that will be very welcome :) If those who can afford to pay more choose to do so, it ensures that we can also keep the door open to those who cannot. This is a team effort so thanks in advance to everyone who supports this event for all of the community to enjoy together.

This time, there will also be a Shakespeare workshop from 4-6pm. Whether you're new to the writing (and think it's pretty impenetrable) or you've enjoyed and worked with it for years, come and get in the mood and hone your skills. We'll get warmed up and then work on bringing to life various aspects of the text through fun games, exercises, and a chance to dig into and play with some short scenes. It's a great way to hopefully learn something new and practise playing with theatre in a group with some awesome new people!

The workshop will be ticketed only and places will be strictly limited to ensure that everyone attending gets the best out of it. Workshop tickets also include entry to the open mic :)

After (and during) the workshop, Black Cherry will be serving a delicious selection of food (including yummy, yummy pizza) and drinks. Please do stick around and socialise between the workshop and open mic as these things are always more fun when we get to know one another!

Biggest love in the world to you all,

Ant Henson (your host, founder of Explore Shakespeare)