St Bride Foundation Youth Theatre Projects
St Bride Foundation Youth Theatre Projects aims to provide young people with a safe environment to express themselves creatively whilst gaining in self-confidence and developing positive relationships with other young people and adults. These projects bring drama theory and practice to life and contribute to a wider understanding of the arts whilst empowering students to critically examine the world around them.
Youth Theatre Projects are held during half term and summer holidays for young people who have an interest in exploring social issues through theatre using various techniques.
Enrolment: The young people who participate in these projects are nominated by their schools, particularly by their drama teachers, to take part because of their interest, talent and dedication to the arts. A few places on each project are held for young people who would like to nominate themselves. Participants should be between 13-18 years old.
The projects aim to reach a wide spectrum of young people through the use of contemporary drama and devising techniques, allowing participants the opportunity to gain new skills, enhance existing skills and build strong peer relationships.
The objectives of YTP are to:
- Encourage young people to critically examine the world around them
- Broaden young people’s ability to tackle sensitive issues in a dramatic context
- Translate views of the world into art
- Work as part of a team as well as independent thinkers
- Give young people a safe environment to express themselves creatively
- Bring drama theory and practice together to empower students
- Build self confidence and peer relationships
- Encourage leadership opportunities within the group
- Enhance speaking and presentational skills
- Demonstrate potential career paths within the creative industries
Each project works with a given stimulus or theme that is researched by the young people (either a current social issue, work of art, artefact or newspaper article). Participants use music, dance and drama to devise their own piece of theatre.
All projects are ‘Living Newspapers’ in which participants research a The half term projects are modelled after the 1930s, American Federal Theatre Project’s Living Newspaper. These Living Newspapers brought social issues to the public using headlines, quotes and statistics ripped from the newspapers. Bringing this concept into the 21st century, we aim to use the same concepts as well as using it as an exploratory tool for the participants.
The participants have the opportunity to work with professional theatre practitioners on devising, script writing, songwriting, choreography, directing, costume design and much more. The practitioners are there to guide them and help shape the piece but it is up to the group of young people to devise the piece.
Past 2008-2009 devised projects include; Eco Agents, examining how we can help the enviroment, Media Mayhem, exploring the effects of media on young people and The Breathing Broadsheets Project, supported by Heritage Lottery Fund as a part of the Story of London Festival. This project was inspired by St Bride Library’s Collection of 19th Century Broadsheets. In partnership with Occam’s Razor Theatre Company a 30 minute promenade theatre piece was produced with 21 young people.
Heritage Lottery Fund [image of logo]
Once participants have completed a half term project they are invited back for further projects. Our Tuesday night Continuum Project, running from 6:00-8:00pm gives young people an opportunity to collaborate on the devising, writing and producing of a full length musical. Past Continuum Projects have been inspired by Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. Participants are also invited to take part in the big summer musical- where they work with an established script over ten days. This past summer 30 young people worked intensely for two weeks on Ragtime: School Edition.
St Bride Foundation Youth Theatre Projects are supported by the generosity of:
For more information on upcoming projects please e-Mail or call Kristina Nilles on 0207 353 3331.