Some say Youth Theatre is the theatre of the future, but what if the future doesn't know? How can we raise the profile

Kiruna Stamell, 10 January 2016

1st year at DandD, and I called a session...

How can we change the stigma of - it's just theatre for/by kids? What can we do that gets the work recognised?
Where are the projects being talked about on a national scale?

During this session we looked at the questions above, and discussed some great projects which are being planned, and discussed - but it never really progresses past this, this seems to be largely down to funding (or the lack of it) because the people working in Youth Theatre's all over the country are working really hard and have all the ambitions to make it work, but when push comes to shove - they just don't have the funds available.

Does this make it okay to just do musicals every year, and churn out a musical year upon year upon year, and become a slave to this - YES, i agree there is certainly a place in the world for this work. But what I am most interested in is does it excite the Young People, and engage the ones which hide in the corner at school, but arrive at their youth theatre and is full of beans... I'm unsure

With all these funding cuts hitting from above, below, sideways we are seeing more and more youth theatres across the country closing, because they simply cannot

afford it, which poses the biggest question of all: What is the point of Youth Theatre?

• Is it about the end product?
Is it about who has the lead?
Is it about the fancy costume and the pretty lights?

Or...

Is it about giving the young person the belief and confidence to chase what they want to do, whilst equipping them with vital life skills along the way.

We are all doing great work, but we all struggle to get it seen - how can we improve this?

Ian Nicholson hit the nail on the head. “It comes from the top”, yes I can sit here getting frustrated as a lonely Youth Theatre Manager that nobody is seeing or hearing about the AMAZING work that the young people are producing, but until more people with that attitude are in control of buildings that will not change.

What a shame, and sad but right truth...

Why would a venue take a risk on a 3 week run of youth theatre work?

Why - let me tell you why, because it is as good as your 1984 / Jane Eyre It is just sometimes a little more relevant and has a lot of young people in... I am not saying that they should be playing 54 year old women, but why cant 14 year olds be

played by 14 year olds? Sorry that was a rant - I didn't actually say that in the session... Just went on a tangent! Oops!!

In summary - let's shout about the theatre of the future and not just hide them in the background... Let's be proud of what they do!

If we work together, we can strengthen the sector for good :)

Session & report held by Ashley Elbourne @aelbourne1

Tags:

Theatre, 1984, youth, shout, funding cuts, youth theatre, Youth Theatre, Jane Eyre, Youth, THEATRE, Shout, Funding Cuts, theatre