Wow! Cascade has just become modern or are Blogs a bit passe now?
Who are we? What do we do? Where? How and, of course why on earth do we do what we do?
Way back in the mists of 1995 Carol, actor, performer, comedian and all round very bright spark decided that using drama and theatre to educate, inform and help people would be a good route to follow in her mid-life years! Little did she know that 25 years later Cascade would still be going strong!
We love our work. Carol was joined by Kit in 1996 and their first play was about HIV/AIDS. Since that time Cascade has performed plays on topics such as Young Carers, (also a film); Domestic Abuse; Safeguarding (also TWO films) Mental Health; Dementia and even Climate Change … all good, solid, worth, issue based stuff. Carol and Kit are both comedy actors … so how do they tackle those subjects? With great care, Kit is a highly skilled playwright, manages to encompass so many relevant points in a short space of time and humour is squeezed in at any feasible place!
Many of these plays were performed to GPs as part of their continuing professional development (CPD) and from here came the large training programme that Cascade now delivers all over the UK. Having seen ‘a play a year’, and enjoying that style of training the GPs asked, in year 4 … can you do something particularly relevant to us, like ‘Heartsink Patients’? Who knew? Fortunately the Cascade team are great improvisors so they spent a morning with the doctors learning more about their situation and the afternoon performing sketches that were relevant and informative. Using techniques drawn from Augustus Boal the GPs were given the opportunity to stop, discuss and change the action until they achieved the best result for patient and doctor.
Then Cascade took off … from GPs to local dentists; from local dentists to nationwide dentists; from Dental Deans to Hospital Deans; Nurses, General Practices, Drug Action Teams … similar but different every time. Effective, Affective, Enjoyable and Affectionate Interactive and Safe Training for, literally, thousands in the NHS . . . and ALL of this with NO role play for the delegates. Yep!! NO ROLE PLAY!! It is an abomination 😊
BUT IT DIDN’T STOP THERE!
The team has the skills … Communication is their forte … people … anything to do with interactions of any sort Cascade has the training. Hotels, Solicitors’, Drug Companies, Small Businesses … Cascade trains in every area. Anyone anywhere who has anything to do with people … Cascade delivers.
In 2019 they undertook a massive tour training every working day for 12 weeks. London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, the East and West Midlands, the East of England, the North West, the North East, Hampshire and, of course, the South West. 2020 was a different story but … in the end … just as successful! A studio appeared at Cascade HQ and it was all done via the magic of Zoom.
2021 … some Zoom and the team are about to set off on their Big Tour starting on Tuesday in Birmingham … watch this space … there will be more and some more inside stories will be shared.