The People Involved

THE ACTORS – At the heart of this film are the actors themselves, They are members of “The Drama Group”, which ran at Otterhayes for 15 years. We worked on several projects over that time. For the last seven years the group actors worked on the Silverhawk Film Project. Everyone involved had a tireless enthusiasm for our playful drama sessions and a creative resourcefulness which was they put to good use each week. Above all else though, we had fun!
Together, the actors played the crew of the Starship ‘Silverhawk’ who were looking for a new home somewhere in the far off reaches of the galaxy.

SARAH FLATTERY also known as Flossie, played the role of the Doctor in the film until she left Otterhayes for pastures new in October 2018.

LUCY BARRASS became the second person to play the role of the  Doctor on the ship.

TIM COOKE was the Chief Engineer and his job was to keep the the engines of the ship in good order.

COLIN HICKSON’s job on the ship is the navigator which he does with the help of the crew’s friend and ally, Leafmould.

STEPHANIE LEWIS plays the role of Princess Ruby Red in the story.

HOLLY WINDIBANK  runs the recreation lounge on the Silverhawk.

LAUREN EDWARDS became the third person to play the role of the  Doctor on the ship. She left Otterhayes and moved to a new home in 2021.

CHRIS HILL  – Dramatherapist: Chris ran drama sessions at Otterhayes for 15 years. His job has been to faciliate the group of actors in their efforts to tell a good yarn! He was also responsible setting the project in motion in the first place and thereafter for set design,  fund-raising and a good deal of prop making, Finally he created the story with the help of the group.

SIMON TYTHERLEIGH  – Videographer and Film Editor:  Simon is a skilful and adventurous videographer, stop-motion animator and a mine of information on all aspects of film creation. He is the mentor for our project. He made regular visits to Otterhayes from 2016 onwards and is a crucial member of the project, building a good rapport with everyone, advising on all aspects and lending a hand to any task that needs to be done.
Simon’s main work is as a stop-motion animator and for some years has been involved in making The Legend of Jan Tregeagle, a well known Cornish story. More can be found on Instagram as #odd_planet_stopmo and on Facebook as #oddplanetstudios.

KAREN BOWLER – Costume Designer and Maker. Everyone was very happy to welcome Karen to the team and she was forever busy with designing and making after her arrival in March 2019. Karen was looking to explore new avenues for herself and so for her to be involved in making this film was the perfect solution. Karen is a talented and adventurous costume maker and worked hard on sourcing outfits and making other (literally) fantastic costumes from scratch. She made regular visits to Otterhayes on what came to be called ‘Costume Days’ which were hugely enjoyable for everyone. She works in Plymouth where her day job is running Classic Costume, based in the Barbican.  http://www.classic-costume.co.uk/

MARK CASSIDY: Actor/Theatre Maker Together with his wife, Mimi, Mark runs award winning company Boo to a Goose Theatre. (Exeter Living Awards 2022)An Associate Artist with Interwoven Productions CIC, Mark also works with Shake-scene Shakespeare Theatre Company, Benchmark Theatre and Little Grey Fergie (Farmyard Stories).As a workshop practitioner, he has led professional development training for Equity Devon and Cornwall, Exeter Phoenix, Creative Culture South West, and Exeter Meisner Workshop, as well as diversity workshops with Magic Carpet, and D’Arts. Mark plays the role of The Emperor of the Purple Quadrant (EPQ) in the Silverhawk story and visited Otterhayes regularly to run workshops and rehearse with the group. He brought a real gravitas to the role of the EPQ and during his time on the project established a good rapport with the actors in the drama group.    https://bootoagoosetheatre.co.uk/

ALAN ‘ALBY’ BRUCE  –  Actor and Dramatherapist.  Alby has many years experience  as an actor, artistic maker, therapist and Druid. He played the crew’s friend and ally, Leafmould in the  story. Leafmould is a character in the green man tradition – someone once described him as a kind of vegan Chewbacca! He made regular visits to work with the group, running workshops and also rehearsing the narrative with everyone. Alby accomplished all these things with expertise and great vigour.

MARY BOOKER – Actor and retired Dramatherapist:  Mary made regular visits to Otterhayes to work with the group and played the role of the Grandmother in the Silverhawk story. As well as being a retired Dramatherapist trainer and supervisor. She is also a writer and poet with two books to her name: https://uk.jkp.com/products/developmental-drama

https://www.triarchypress.net/nothing-special.html

ADELE GRIFFITHS is an actor and Dramatherapist. In the past she has worked both in television and the theatre. She worked for the NHS before her retirement in 2019. She plays the role of Lady Eleanor Albright in the story and also ran workshops for the group.

EVERED ‘WOODY’ WOODWARD – Drama Production Maker. Woody brought a wealth of skills and many years’ experience to our film, specifically designing and constructing theatre sets. He was invaluable in, for instance, making a working fire door (airlock!) as part of the bridge. With many projects and employments to his name, his most recent work is the Lifeboat Theatre which produces performances in and around a restored lifeboat!  https://www.thelifeboattheatre.org.uk/

Dr DANIEL STOLFI is a UK-based dramatherapist and medical anthropologist. He is the founder and artistic director of The Awesome Puppet Company which draws its inspiration from sources in our ancient, modern and natural worlds. He specialises in the therapeutic uses of puppetry and visited us to run some special puppet-making workshops with the drama group. With his help, the actors managed to create some scary looking underworld beings needed for a section of the story. The Awesome Puppet Company’s website is at:   https://www.awesome-puppets.com/

CICELY ROSE BOND – Maker: Cicely is a student at Exeter College. She has host of creative interests and skills which were put to good use with helping us rebuild the new set, specifically making and decorating forty new wall panels. She also worked on finishing some underworld puppets made by the group actors and used in the final drama sessions

RON WINTERWOOD  –  Electronics Maker:  Ron worked for Mantracourt Electronics and was also an electronics tech at local music store, Mansons until his retirement in 2021. His job is to make this Sci Fi project look suitably futuristic and exciting which he does with great skill and humour. He had the task of designing and then assembling the various control modules installed in the ship, ensuring that everything worked correctly with lights and sound at the appropriate times. He also wired the model Silverhawk ready for filming. His style is quiet and thorough and his work is of the best quality.

MARIUS LEGGE – Storyboard Artist. Marius had many years experience as an illustrator and storyboard artist, living and working in Portugal and the UK. He had the important job of creating a graphic novel of the Silverhawk story. The purpose of the storyboard was to help the group actors better understand the storyline because they could read it themselves. We plan to turn the storyboard into a graphic novel which will accompanies the finished DVD. http://mariuslegge.blogspot.com/

BRIAN ABBOTT – Musician: Brian has been a musician of some talent and experience for many years. He provided us with some excellent special effects made in his recording studio. Brian is the guitarist vocalist and founding member of The Invisible Opera Company of Tibet. https://www.brianabbott.info/

ALISON HUNT – Word Processing: Alison was of invaluable help with script analysis – she painstakingly typed out the script including details of each scene with each camera shot noted.

JANE HARRIS – Bookkeeper: Jane’s job was to oversee our double-entry booking which was an essential task in making sure we did not overspend our budget! She accomplished this task with diligence and all necessary good humour! Aside from bookkeeping Jane is also a Yoga Teacher of some repute in the Exeter area.

SONIA KEMP – Artist Maker:  Sonia is a fine artist living in Exeter. She does not have the nickname of ‘Sparkly Sonia’ for nothing. She has a real talent for endowing her painted geometric forms, landscapes, and faces with iridescent light that seems to sparkle almost magically. Her talents extend to doing the same with mundane everyday objects! She was the ideal person to create the special plinth for the Happiness Crystal and the Purple Emperor’s Magical Mirror. son-jah@live.co.uk

CHRIS LOWE – Engineer: Chris acted as a consultant when we were first exploring how to construct the electronic items we needed. This engineer hails from Hong Kong and as well as some initial making, gave us some useful advice. In particular, he has been responsible for making the ship’s engines flicker in an effective way!

CHRIS SCOTT – Volunteer:  Chris is a retired GP and has provided invaluable help in remaking the set. Most recently he has been involved in battening and attaching wall panels but most usefully busied himself with making the new and pristine ceiling tiles look suitably old and battered!