Ribble of Dreams Workshops

For this year's Encounter Festival, the Imitating the Dog (ITD) team are aiming to tell a story that will unfold across a series of viewing boxes, seen through a smartphone sized slot in a shop window. 

The installations will be visible across a trail of five shops in Preston City Centre during the Encounter festival which takes place on 21st & 22nd Sept 2024. 

The theme is Ribble of Dreams, which takes as its starting point a river journey. A journey of escape, of exploration and of discovery. Drawing on the novel Huckleberry Finn as an inspiration, but also on local histories as well as pure fantasy, two kids find themselves adrift on a raft. They’re on a river, but it’s flowing away from the sea. It drifts through landscapes both real and fantastical, strange and familiar.

To inform the concept and create the content of the piece, ITD are delivering a series of free creative workshops for young people, children and families on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September:

Multimedia Storytelling Workshops

Date: Saturday 14th September 

Venue: Preston Guild Hall, Lancaster Rd, Preston PR1 1HT

Times: 11am – 1pm (11 – 15 yr olds) / 2pm – 4pm (16 – 25 yr olds) 

Multimedia Storytelling with ITD co-artistic directors Pete Brooks and Andrew Quick. This workshop will explore some of the simple theatre and creative technology techniques we use when telling stories, and that we will be using to make ‘Ribble of Dreams’ – acting, video, animation, green screen, & projection.

Find out more and book tickets here.

3D Multimedia Model Box Workshop ITD

For children aged 5+ and their families

Date: Sunday 15th Sept 

Venue: Preston Guild Hall, Lancaster Rd, Preston PR1 1HT

Times: 11am – 1pm  or 2pm – 4pm 

This workshop is a fun, inclusive, hands-on, and creative introduction to creating miniature 3D multimedia installations. Working with ITD co-artistic directors Pete Brooks and Andrew Quick, we will demonstrate the digital projection techniques used in Ribble of Dreams, and have a go at creating our own miniature sets, onto which we will project video and animation. 

Suitable for children aged five and up and their grown-ups, and older children interested in theatre design. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Scissors and craft knives will be used.

Find out more about both workshops and book your place HERE.

Booking is free but essential to guarantee a place!