What value does youth theatre have? - Jenny Langley-Hoole

So Youth Theatre is pointless... isn't it? Well, that's the message I'm getting. What with cuts, not just in the arts sector, but across youth provision, well actually across everything. I'm not stupid, I know the country is up the proverbial creek but really; is this the right way?

Surely if positive youth provision disappears under the weight of these catastrophic cuts, then we will end up with many children and teenagers with nothing to occupy or stimulate them.

From our work over many years in schools and youth theatre settings we have witnessed a definite shift in young people's ability to imagine. Youth arts and Youth Theatre in particular counteracts that. It enables you to see a bigger picture, to imagine possibilities, to sympathise and empathise with numerous scenarios, and makes you an all round better individual. Now for whatever reason young people have not completely lost the skills needed to imagine, but it has certainly depleted and the imagination they do exhibit in their play looks suspiciously like a PS3 game or a modelling photo shoot. If the opportunity for creative expression disappears completely (as it already is with funding likely or definitely pulled from Creative Partnerships, Extended Schools Services, Find your Talent and many, many more) we will breed a generation whose only creative input is TV, and their output is playing on a computer with no conversation, no interaction, no challenge, no risk, and none of their own imagination. We will raise a generation who fail, simply because they have only developed to interact with a screen and have no clue how to communicate. Surely this is not going to help our future economy?… where will all the new, original and innovative ideas come from? Who will invent? Who will debate? Who will explore? Who will lead?...

Youth theatre has the power to enable young people to feel empowered and worthy. It builds confidence; we have witnessed countless children and young people filled with pride in their own achievements, after performing even in the most modest show. I have been astonished by young people able to firmly put forward their own arguments and opinions, something they would never have considered doing when they first attended youth theatre. We have supported young people taking a leap into further or higher education. Before attending youth theatre their opinions, formed by generally poor experiences of education, would never have let them consider college or university an option for them. Young people learn to work together, to respect each other, to have self discipline and self motivation; to have consideration and a broad acceptance, and be in charge of their own future and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I could literally go on and on for hours about how much youth theatre benefits the people involved but this would be a very long post if I did, so instead I want to make a request. If we are to really recognise the value of youth theatre and youth arts generally we need to bring about a discussion around the topic in an open forum. We need to make people sit up and take notice and we have to ensure that provision continues so please share.

If you have any thoughts on youth theatre and how you value it, any anecdotes of your experiences or opinions on how beneficial youth theatre is then I encourage you to share them here.

Young People and Live Theatre - Andy Reeves

Young people aren't interested in live theatre. Indeed, what's the point of it these days? With TV, iPods, iPhones, Playstations, computers, DVDs and downloads, there's simply no need for it. The theatre used to be a place where people went to be told stories but there's more intensity, plot twists, madness and intrigue in a couple of  episodes of Eastenders than in all of Shakespeare's tragedies put together. Isn't there? Why bother looking elsewhere when instant thrills are at your fingertips? No, theatre's finished. Young people tell stories virtually now, and if not then they prefer different mediums to communicate- MCing, DJing, anything urban... right?

Except...

The more virtual everything becomes, the more powerful, the more surprising the live nature of theatre becomes. We know, from our work with children and young people of all ages, that the vast majority of them have never been near a theatre. But when we bring our theatre- Inclusive, participatory, unexpected - to them, we see how they react. We see excitement, engagement, amusement, intrigue, even wonder. Old, old, simple ideas - characters that the audience can actually talk to, or who appear out of the audience, or even out of an unlikely door, or one actor playing two roles, or hotseating - retain their power and enchantment simply because the children do not expect them. They have no frame of reference - the telly is the telly, the computer screen is a screen, and interactivity must be limited. Theatre is live. It’s about people. And people talk to each other. Interest in that will only die when our tongues and ears wither away.

It might be that building based theatre, where you sit in rows to watch silently and pay astronomical prices for the pleasure, is indeed on the way out. I desperately hope not, not least because the (traditional) theatre remains one of the few places where you have to follow a story right through to the end, where it can start as one thing and evolve into another, keep you guessing, without you switching off when you decide after 12 seconds it’s not what you thought it was. But if we can find ways to continue to bring stories to people, stories they can interact with and take part in and decide the ending of, then there will always be a place for that theatre. The responses that children have to vibrant, original, involving live work make this clear. The very fact that the live experience is rare to them makes it their own discovery. Wouldn’t it be ironic if the very thing that threatens theatre, the technology that puts worlds at your fingertips, could in fact help ensure its survival?

Response to Gareth Malone's Extraordinary School for Boys - Bob Christer

Here is a comment I posted in response to Gareth Malone's Blog at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2010/09/gareth-malones-extraordinary-s.shtml

I think this programme has long been called for, there are a great deal of fantastic Creative approaches to education happening up and down the country from Artists, Architects, Scientists... and of course Teachers and Teaching Assistants.

I work for Speakeasy Theatre Company, who have over the past fourteen years developed an excellent reputation for their work in schools, with one of our strongest areas being engagement in boys. I can see a great deal of similarity in Gareth's approaches, using characters and debate to engage boys in literacy, breaking up teaching with physical activity, praising the boys for their achievements. These are all skills and techniques that any good teacher can easily use, given time and permission of course... Over the past few years, particularly with our engagement in the Creative Partnerships programme, we have been able to work more closely with school staff, and have been able to observe the development of a group of young people, allowing us to be able to gather some tangible evidence of the impact on this kind of work. We have seen children exceeding SATs predictions, attendance figures increasing on the days in which we work in schools, an IAPPS co-ordinator stating that had he observed one of our sessions for OFSTED he would have graded it outstanding, but also more personalised developments in confidence, in particular a young boy with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and selective mutism developing the confidence to speak in front of his classmates, and to say hello when you walk past him in the corridor. Obviously we cannot attribute all of these benefits solely to our work, as without a supportive school environment, and teaching staff that are willing to take these techniques on board we would not be seeing such results.

This is where I hope this programme doesn't fall down, new things can be scary, and if something looks difficult to replicate, it will be difficult to embed in the education system. The techniques and approaches within Gareth's work so far, don't have to happen at the local common, they don't even have to happen outside (although I am not dismissing the benefits of working outside!) These techniques can easily be brought into the classroom; likewise debate does not have to have such a competitive drive. Maybe the edit of the programme is to blame, but those two young boys who seemed to have gained a great deal of encouragement and confidence in public speaking seemed crushed by the loss of the debating competition. By simply using that debating technique, one step removed, debating about a dilemma that affects others, playing devil’s advocate and trying to argue for both sides of the argument can be just as engaging. I agree that competition teaches important lessons about coping with success and failure, but I would personally tread very carefully when trying to boost confidence.

I can't wait to see how the programme develops. I think Gareth Malone has done an excellent job of putting a hidden topic into the spotlight, and wish him every success.



Speakeasy will be running a one day training course for Teachers and Creatives entitled "Interactive Workshops for Schools - The Speakeasy Method" on Friday 15th October 2010. to find out more, download an information pack here:
http://www.speakeasytheatre.co.uk/CPDSpeakeasyEmbrace.pdf

How do you make Theatre with Disabled Young People? - Bob Christer

Let’s face it; trying to create Theatre with a group of teenagers can be tricky. Possibly even trickier if the teenagers in question have a range of disabilities and additional needs. How do you possibly work with such a diverse group to create a performance in a week?


Last week we did just that, working with Leicester City Council’s Disabled Children’s Services and eleven young people at Embrace Arts at the RA Centre. As is the case with the generic umbrella term of ‘Disability’, the young people had a wide range of impairments, from learning disabilities and difficulties to physical disabilities, but, as with all Speakeasy projects, we were much more interested in their abilities, their talents; how we could facilitate a week of activity that allowed them to access Theatre on their own terms. This is an approach that is not just about working with disabled young people, but one of Speakeasy’s core values.


The week itself was a huge success, with each of the young people able to contribute during the devising process, as well as having a role during the performance itself. Those who felt stronger verbally, used those skills to communicate the story to the audience, those who felt more able to express themselves through movement created landscapes for our story to journey through, and characters along the way. One of the young people even introduced and concluded the piece, as well as taking a role within the performance. But as with any project of this nature, it was not the end product that was the most important achievement of the week, but the engagement and development of the young people’s skills and sense of self.


So, how do you make Theatre with Disabled Young People? Well for us, the same way that you would make Theatre with any group of people. That’s not to say that each group won’t be different, or there is a one-size-fits-all approach to our work, but rather by being open to possibilities, allowing individuals to express themselves, their ideas, their creativity, a truly inclusive approach can be nurtured, which in turn will surely nurture those involved. Put simply rather than focussing solely on the negatives that need work, we strive to take time to find those positives, to take risks. I mean, what better place is there to take risks, and try things out, without fear of failure, than in a safe nurturing drama workshop environment?


If you are interested in Speakeasy’s methodology, please do take a look at the four training sessions we will be running October- December 2010. http://www.speakeasytheatre.co.uk/booking_now.htm#cpd

Why work in schools? Thoughts for the freelance actor - Andy Reeves

In terms of kudos, glamour, influence and funding, the professional theatre scene in Britain today can be viewed like a pyramid. At the top you might have the RSC and the National Theatre. Arguably just below the tip you might have the West End Stage. Next, the most vibrant and credible of the regional theatres and well-regarded touring companies. Below that, the rest of the regional main-house scene. Next down, the arts centre circuit and London fringe- poor but credible. And propping the whole lot up? The Theatre in Education sector.


Let’s be honest here. Many people who engage with the business of creating theatre for schools as freelance, jobbing actors are not driven by a passionate belief in education, a passionate desire to help effect school improvement or to change the lives of the young people they encounter. Many of them- maybe even most of them- are driven by a passionate belief that Theatre in Education jobs are gettable, and on their radar as performers in the way that membership of the RSC or a major part in the latest TV Poliakoff are not. Many of them- maybe even most of them- view Theatre in education as a training ground for more glamorous things; a place to pay some dues and flesh out the CV while going about the vital business of chasing a decent part on The Bill.


The reasons for this are many. To summarise just a few:


• Both The Bill and the Poliakoff pay a hell of a lot better than the average TiE contract.

• A part-time job at Wilkinson’s pays better than many TiE contracts.

• You don’t get to work with anyone famous in schools theatre.

• Some TiE companies are rubbish.

• Children can be horrible.


Certainly, you could be forgiven for thinking- especially if you read certain newspapers which we’d better not name- that walking into a typical British school today will bring you into imminent danger from knife-wielding, gun-toting maniacs hell bent on rapine, ravage and murder. And that’s just in the staff room. As so often, the reality proves to be different. For the right person, the business of performing in schools offers things not to be found elsewhere.

"Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people"- so said the late Adrian Mitchell. You could say the same of the Theatre, of course. But you can’t say the same of schools theatre. It has a purpose, or a range of purposes. To inspire, to challenge, to enthuse, to educate. They are laudable, wonderful goals. If you think the process of educating young people (any people, really) has any worth, and if you think that Theatre is a place where you might do that, and if you can get excited about Theatre made in the unlikeliest of settings, then you might just find that making Theatre for and in schools offers you something that nothing else can. At Speakeasy, when looking for people to join our team, we look for people who can understand this. They don’t have to be experienced, deep thinkers about education, trained teachers (definitely not, actually) or even aware at all of what arts in schools can do. They just need to be able to get their head around being an artist not for their own glory or fulfilment- but for the tricky, complex business of helping people learn stuff. Even, you know, stuff they don’t always want to learn....