What can an Education Department bring to a theatre 

Convener(s): Rachel Tyson ( Lyric Hammersmith )

Participants: William Hahn, Fran Gerono, Niky Petto , Paul Charlton, Marhn Mclean , Louise Jerrerys, Marianne Dicker, Alan Wen, Antonio Ferrand, Sam Pritchard and many more who came, joined and left !

 Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

• Is the role of the Education department to work with people who already access the theatre or to work with those who don’t?
• Working internally within a building to educate the building about the work that the education department do.
• Education to influence the artistic programming of a building –to advise on new theatre makers, but also the work young people are making.
• It’s easy to say education is at the heart, when you unpick the aims of a building and the work they are creating –to tick boxes and have a charity status.
• Often work runs along side the main programming, but there is a turn recently to make it integral to the building –often as a response to themes, ideas and styles
• The set up of Education now feels very specific to the feel of a building –so we have audience development, creative learning and participation departments.
• Do we need to be attracting a young audience, or should it always be a community that is being created?
• The idea of making the formality of going to a theatre explained –so a department link the demands of a non-theatre going community.