Spring fever

The arrival of spring has co-incided with a hive of activity here at RTC. Interviews for the reminiscence thread are taking place a-pace, which are in turn being edited as fast as our Macs can manage; flushed with success from our first round of workshops that were presented in Manchester at the end of January, we're now planning for Gypsy, Romany, Traveller History Month, which takes place in June; and the third series of the radio drama is about to be story-boarded.

When I receive a parcel of newly edited recordings through the mail, I'm normally overwhelmed with anticipation. Whose voice will I be hearing? What stories will they have to tell? How will their memories and experiences fit in with the education pack? The education pack is beginning to take a distinct shape now. The key themes are emerging from the interviews and how they fit together — like a jigsaw, or a patchwork quilt — will ensure that people who make use of the pack will be able to draw a wealth of understanding from it.

The workshops that were presented in Manchester at the end of January, as part of Holocaust Memorial Day activities, were received with fabulous praise. This is almost entirely due to skill and professionalism of the actors, and I'd like to compliment them for their achievements. Of course I'm pleased that the work that I put into developing the sessions was thought to be valuable, but now I'm in the process of analysing the feedback from the sessions and determining how I can improve the activities in time for Gypsy, Romany, Traveller History Month in June.

Writing the radio series is a process; it begins with story-boarding and ends a few months later with the final edit of the script. The story-board is crucial to ensure that the story arcs for each character intersect appropriately and are carried through to their conclusions. It ensures that everyone involved in the production has an oversight of where the stories are going. Right now, the writing team for the third series of Atching Tan are plotting and planning, scoping and scheming. I'm looking forward to hearing their ideas!

I hope that you're enjoying some sunshine wherever you are.

- Daniela