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