University News Last updated 06 June 2017
It will be a case of ‘BCU, Where Are you!’ this weekend as the voice of iconic TV and film characters – including Scooby-Doo – headlines a family festival in Birmingham.
Solihull-born Marc Silk, who voices Johnny Bravo, Scooby-Doo, and the Great Dane’s best friend Shaggy, will be appearing at Birmingham City University, which is throwing open its doors for
Inspired Family Day between 10am and 3pm on Saturday 10 June.
At the free family festival, Marc will be giving tips on how to create animated character voices, talk about performing over 30 characters in ‘Danger Mouse’, working with George Lucas on ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’, and being Grandmaster Glitch in the hit CBeebies show ‘Go Jetters!’
From Solihull to ‘Star Wars’
Marc went to school in Castle Bromwich; a young fan of ‘Star Wars’, Pingu and Scooby-Doo. He has now worked for all three.
You can hear him in ‘Chicken Run’ and various computer games, narrating ‘The Pingu Show’, and he is the announcer’s voice you’ve heard on ‘Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway’, ‘The Royal Variety Show’ and the recent ‘An Evening with Take That’ on ITV.
Joining Marc for his session at 1pm will be award-winning animation director and Birmingham City University academic Shaun Magher, who will help families draw some of their favourite cartoon characters, including Johnny Bravo, which was animated by Shaun and voiced by Marc.
“I’m a huge fan of animation. My heroes were the people behind the scenes, who brought characters to life. I’m looking forward to sharing some of this magic with you!”
Alongside the animation workshop, Inspired Family Day will allow visitors to have a go at reading the news in one of the University’s TV studios, make their own metal pendant to take home or create their very own ‘Space Invader’ computer game from scratch.
Free fun for all the family
Taking place at Birmingham City University’s City Centre Campus, situated in the heart of Birmingham’s Eastside, the family festival will introduce youngsters to the range of subjects on offer at the institution and showcase potential career options.
Other highlights of Inspired Family Day include a family portrait experience, historical object handling from Thinktank Birmingham science museum, a virtual reality showcase, drama workshops and drop in, make-and-take sessions for the under 10s.
Meanwhile, as construction for High Speed 2 (HS2) gets underway in Birmingham, youngsters will be able to design their own train station for the city, and budding fashionistas will be able to create their own personalised, digitally embroidered badge or screen print a tea-towel.
Coupled with this, there will be the opportunity to meet with world-class academics, who are training the next generation of creative professionals.
Inspired Festival
The action-packed day of free and fun-filled events and activities for all ages will officially open Birmingham City University’s Inspired Festival, now in its fourth year. It showcases the talent of the institution’s final year students in disciplines such as film, art, architecture, fashion and photography.
The hundreds of visitors expected at Inspired Family Day will get the opportunity to see many of the student’s exhibitions in the University’s £62 million Parkside Building, which boasts cutting edge facilities – including Europe's largest static green screen.
A range of street food items will be on sale outside and throughout the building during Inspired Family Day, including Classic Ices, who will be serving up ice cream made in the Warwickshire village of Henley-in-Arden.
Sara Middleton, Associate Dean at Birmingham City University, said: “Inspired Festival celebrates the wealth of creative talent being nurtured and developed in the region – but we also want to introduce the next generation to all the amazing subjects they can study here and go on to forge a successful career in.
“The theme of this year’s Festival is ‘Birmingham, our stage’ and our Inspired Family Day will echo this, celebrating all that makes our city so wonderful and unique.
“We have been working hard to deliver a packed programme of unmissable events and activities for everyone to enjoy for free. We also look forward to welcoming hundreds of visitors from the region and beyond to come and see the wealth of truly awe-inspiring work our students have been developing and creating during their time at Birmingham City University.”
During Inspired Festival the public will be given the opportunity to take part in a series of workshops focussed on enhancing creativity, and all events and activities will be showcased using the hashtag #BCUinspired.
Further Inspired Festival events will be held at the University’s City Centre Campus in Birmingham’s Eastside as well as Birmingham School of Jewellery and Birmingham School of Art, ranging from music and literature performances to fashion shows and innovative technology demonstrations.