The Guardian - Male Suicide

Here is an article I found really interesting about the number of Male suicides and we may be able to include some of this information in our presentation when we are explaining about target audience and when appealing to the Arts Council etc. Please read.

In 1981, 2,466 women in the UK took their own lives. Three decades later, thanks to improvements in psychiatric and emergency care medicine, to a range of suicide prevention barriers and policies and, perhaps, to gradual social, political and personal empowerment, the number in 2012 had almost halved to 1,391.
In 1981, 4,129 men in the UK took their own lives. Three decades later, despite improvements in psychiatric and emergency care medicine, a range of suicide prevention barriers and policies and, arguably, some degree of social, political and personal empowerment, the number in 2012 had risen to 4,590.
The latest suicide statistics from the ONS show the greatest gender gulf since records began. The suicide rate for men is now three and a half times that of women. Breaking down the statistics, the most worrying trend is a rise in the rate among men aged 40-44. It is striking too that whereas 30 years ago the risks for men were greatest in London and the south-east and lowest in the north, the picture has now entirely reversed. This tallies with research by Samaritans, who have found that men at the bottom of the socioeconomic pile are at greatest risk. Clare Wyllie, its head of policy and research, was quoted as saying: "They will grow up expecting by the time they reach mid-life they'll have a wife who will look after them and a job for life in a male industry. In reality they may find that they reach middle age in a very different position. Society has this masculine ideal that people are expecting to live up to. Lots of that has to do with being a breadwinner. When men don't live up to that it can be quite devastating for them."
While I might quibble with the phrase "a wife who will look after them", Wyllie is surely right to note the iniquitous and stubborn role of masculine gender noms in this problem. Much of this is internalised. Men are imbued with a cultural model of the husband and father who is there to protect and provide – an ideal that society continues to promote as a measure of masculine worth, while too often snatching away the opportunity, means and circumstances by which it can be attained. But the problems go deeper. There is the insidious influence of macho conditioning that beseeches to "man up" and demands that "boys don't cry" on pain of mockery and humiliation. These values are directly implicated in men's reluctance to seek help and support, whether from friends or professionals, preferring to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs with all the consequences that holds for careers, relationships, social isolation and homelessness, all of which are known to be key risk factors for suicide.
If men are often their own worst enemies when it comes to getting support in times of need, they are not helped by a wider society which often seems to treat the needs of men with the same indifference shown by men ourselves.
That suicide is a gendered phenomenon is a looming, inescapable, self-evident truth. And yet it is one that seems to have largely escaped the notice of government. In late 2012, the Department of Health issued the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, a 57-page document setting out policy priorities which, remarkably, made no reference to gender or to male-specific issues at all. Instead, nine target groups were specified, including young people, LGBT groups, refugees, asylum-seekers and minority ethnic communities. There are indeed specific and pressing needs within all those groups that demand attention, but the rather large elephant was left silently brooding in a dark corner of the room.
The Policy Research Programme is currently investing £1.5m over three years into six suicide-related projects. They cover self-harming behaviour, the situation of LGBT youth and the role of the internet and social media in relation to suicidal behaviour. Again, the problem is not what is there, but what is missing.
Some progress at least was made in the first annual update to the Suicide Prevention Strategy, published a couple of weeks ago. Under the chairmanship of psychiatrist Professor Louis Appleby, this finally acknowledged that middle-aged men are a high-risk group. It was only a page and the proposals contained are limited and modest, jabbing a finger at GPs and community outreach programmes. Nonetheless, in acknowledging the problem at all, it marks an important step forward.
Our failure to even dent the rate of male suicides over 30 years is a national scandal and a national tragedy. It is a failure that has cost tens of thousands of lives, stolen from us too many friends, fathers, sons, and brothers. To what extent we might have been able to reduce the rates with a concerted effort we cannot know because, shamefully, we have never really tried. If the next 30 years are to follow a different pattern, then acknowledging the true nature of the problem is a vital first step.

Bingo motif music

I know we aren't supposed o plan too far ahead but we agreed that we wanted our piece to be strange and something we discussed as a whole class and yesterday, in our group was that we wanted to use music that didn't quite fit with what was happening. Here is a screenshot of the song that we like for the bingo DV8 style motif. It is "puttin on the ritz" - Ella Fitzgerald 

About Nothing Research

Just so I don't keep posting rubbish on here 24/7, you can check up on mu Much Ado About Nothing Pinterest Board titled ABOUT NOTHING - HOTEL. On here I will be positing websites and images that inspire, relate or influence our piece. http://gb.pinterest.com/ameliarkcarr/about-nothing-hotel/
xoxoxox

17th March - Funding money allocations

We need £30,000 from somewhere in order to fund our show.
Each of us have different allocated ways of getting funding.
I worked with Becca and researched Kickstarter ( https://www.kickstarter.com/). We looked at other theatre companies that have used the site to get funding for their production and the majority of smaller theatre companies asked for £3000. Most of them when we checked were very close to reaching this goal and this would be because of a combination of good offers for donations (for example £5 - your name in the programme) and also how good your actual production looks and how you present it. Therefore, we also decided to ask for £3000.
In order to get the rest of the money, the others in the group are trying to get funding in other ways.
Arts council - Nicole is asking for £15,000.
Trusts and Funds - Beth is going to find £10,000
Sponsorship - Jess is going to raise £2000 as this will be the hardest way to raise big cash so we have aimed low in this area.
This should add up to the £30,000 we need.

14th march - NEW DEVELOPMENT

Last lesson I wasn't here because I was throwing up but the others told me their really good idea that it is a hotel of guilt and is all happening in Claudio's mind. (Please see Beth's and beccas blog). Here is a mindmap flow chart of the spaces we want to use and what they will be used as. And here is a picture of how we want hero to appear dying the bingo scene. Becci is laying on the grid and she will be silhouetted by the profile above her. That way, the grid won't be scene. Xoxoxoox

Tuesday 11th march

Beth had a really good idea from looking at research, where in the original story, hero is humiliated and in a way abused by Claudio when she is left at the alter. She said that we could do the piece in a way that shows the development of their relationship and each floor of the college/hotel is a new development in the relationship. The ground floor is bright and funny and as you move up the college, the relationship gets darker. I really like this idea because it means we have more aspects to explore, even if we don't use it, it's another thing to consider and include to give our story and characters depth. 

Much ado clip

This is a modern adaptation of much ado, which has similar elements to our idea. I think if we look at lots of different people playing the characters, then we might find a new side to them that we can bring out. I love this scene of benedick and Beatrice and how playful they are with each other. http://m.youtube.com/watch/?v=UNIQm7vEa2o

Rehearsal schedule

This is a photo if our groups rehearsal schedule beginning 19th march. 

On blogger

Here's my first post on blogger ... Done by Megan coss Amy got confused ... Bless :)