Photos by Alan Taylor of Planet Vision Images.

"COMMON GROUND" Access All Areas Showcase & CD presentation Mitchell Memorial Theatre, Hanley - Jan 24th 2004 On 24th January 2004, Planet Sound Community Arts staged its most successful event to date at the Mitchell Memorial Theatre - the "Common Ground" showcase. Organised by the Access All Areas team and supported by members of the New Vic Theatre, the event brought a close to the first phase of the Access All Areas project by showcasing some of the achievements of the Make Some Noise Action Zone, and celebrating the success of the "Common Ground" CD recording. The evening opened with a group from M+ giving a junk drumming performance to the crowds as they arrived at the Mitchell Memorial Theatre. This was accompanied by a performance of fire tricks and juggling, and gave a great start to the evening programme. On stage first was the group Madula, who performed a mixture of drumming, vocals and movement pieces. The group was the first after schools project of Planet Sound Community Arts and has become a great feature of the Make Some Noise Action Zone. A video from Pendrell Hall was screened, showing a behind the scenes documentary of a typical Access All Areas session from the 2003 programme. Members of the particular group were in attendance to present their thoughts on the event. The project "CRE8" was also presented to the audience, showing some of the other work the Action Zone has been involved in. The band from Arch Day Centre performed some of the material written over the last phase of the Arch project , click here for further information, and the group False Idol brought their own brand of music to the showcase. Members of this group had been part of the 2003 phase of the Youth Music training course, conducted at the Planet Sound Community Arts premises, and they presented their feedback to the audience. All groups performed to a capacity crowd, who showed their appreciation. The final event of the showcase was the presentation of the "Common Ground" CD to the young people involved in the project throughout the 2003 phase, and a speech by the Zone Manager Matt Daniels. The evening finished with a buffet for audience and performers and an energetic set performed by the Planet Sound Drum School in the upstairs rooms. Planet Sound Community Arts would like to thank everyone involved for their contribution to the event. For more information on the Access All Areas project, click here.