past projects: participation

Dundee rep theatre

Between April 2012 - October 2017, I led a number of Dundee Rep’s Youth Theatre groups: 3-5s, 5-7s, 8-10s and 11-13s.

Over each year, the groups had the opportunity both to develop their skills and to work towards a performance.

I also regularly delivered holiday projects, co-facilitated youth theatre workshops with young people from the National Autistic Society, and worked with our adult community company, directing two mainstage productions, One Million Tiny Plays About Britain (2017) and Monkey Bars (2018).

For further information about my directing credits, click here.

For further information about my education work, click here.

Horsecross Arts

From 2011-13, I led on a number of year-round projects for Horsecross, as well as bespoke projects as required. My core projects were:

PERTH YOUTH THEATRE DIRECTOR

In September 2011, we launched a new strand of the Youth Theatre programme for primary children and I ran both the P1-3 and the P4-7 groups. Following the success of that first year, demand for places was so high that we increased our provision from two primary-aged youth theatres per week to five and I led on three of these groups until June 2013.

AUTISM YOUTH THEATRE DIRECTOR

In July 2012, I launched a Youth Theatre pilot project for children on the autistic spectrum, in partnership with Perth Autism Support - the first Youth Theatre of its kind in Scotland. Following a successful pilot, we secured funding from Children in Need and expanded provision from two groups to three, enabling us to keep group sizes small with a high adult to child ratio. Each term focussed on developing skills in team-work and co-operation, whilst being creative, using our imaginations and having fun. I led this project until October 2013.

HORSECROSS ACT TUTOR

Between September 2012 and June 2013, I set up and led a new drama group called Horsecross Act which ran on Monday evenings and was for anyone aged 18+ who had an interest in community theatre. The group was very relaxed and informal with no pressure to perform and this enabled us to focus on skills development in devising, improvisation and script work.

TOONSPEAK

DRAMA WORKSHOP LEADER AND ARTS AWARD ADVISER

2010-11
Between September 2010 and June 2011, I led weekly workshops in Springburn for 10-16 years olds, including devising an original performance for North Glasgow Arts and Regeneration Network’s Carnival of Winter Things. Their piece, Scrudge, was a contemporary reworking of the classic Scrooge, transported into the 21st Century streets of Springburn. In the run up to Christmas, I also had the opportunity to work with Toonspeak participants in some additional workshops to develop their directing and design skills.

2011-12
From September 2011 to March 2012, I led weekly workshops in Blackhill for 10-12 year olds, through which we explored new ways of generating material, including movement-based tasks, creative writing exercises and an exploration of poetry, text and music as stimulus. The group developed at a pace and they rose to the challenges presented to them with enthusiasm, creativity and intelligence, resulting in a new devised piece, A Time to Dance, performed as part of Toonspeak’s Spring Cabaret.

In Autumn 2011, I also led taster workshops in Drumchapel as well as a collaboration with Theatre Modo and Depot Arts, exploring drama, circus skills and urban arts with young people in Townhead. Then in October 2011, I co-facilitated Toonspeak’s first Arts Award holiday project, which saw all participants gaining their Bronze award.

ROYAL CONSERVATOIRE OF SCOTLAND

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly RSAMD) runs a busy, year-round in-house programme of drama, dance, music and film classes for children and young people. Throughout the year, students have the chance to share and perform work created both for invited and public audiences.

YOUTH THEATRE TUTOR

Between January 2009 and June 2011, I designed and delivered weekend Youth Theatre workshops for both primary and secondary aged children and young people. I also directed two short performances:

2009 / S4-6
The 28 - This was a political piece exploring the concepts of government, revolution and loss.

2010 / P1-2
The Sadness of King Joe - This was a play about epic adventures involving utopias, knights, dragons, lurgies and mighty battles.

In Autumn 2010, I worked with a P3/4 composite group exploring ideas around being new, friendship and cooperative working, after which I was employed as a cover tutor, allowing me to work with a range of classes on an ad hoc basis.

YOUTH THEATRE ARTS SCOTLAND

Based in Edinburgh, Youth Theatre Arts Scotland (formerly Promote YT) is Scotland'‘s national organisation for promoting and developing youth theatre locally, nationally and internationally:

ARTISTIC FACILITATOR

In April and May 2010, I worked for Youth Theatre Arts Scotland (in collaboration with AttFife and Fife Council) to deliver a programme of performance creation workshops and in-service training to primary schools across Fife with the view of enhancing the annual Fife Schools Drama Festival.

Over the course of the project the team worked with over 600 young people from several schools, devising original performances in response to the question “Where are you from?”

I co-facilitated/directed five short performances:

Here We Are / P1-2
Our Future / P1-3
Dreamers Dreaming Dreams / P4-7
They’ll Name a City after Us / P3-7
Crash / P7

LYCEUM YOUTH THEATRE

YOUTH THEATRE TUTOR

In January and February 2008, as part of my Masters in Arts in Social Contexts at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, I co-facilitated a five-week project for the Lyceum Youth Theatre in Edinburgh, inspired by Six Characters in Search of an Author, a co-production between the Lyceum, National Theatre of Scotland and the Citizens Theatre.

Designed to give twenty 11-18 year olds from LYT’s waiting list the opportunity to take part in a series of workshops created exclusively for them, participants were able to develop skills in building a character, improvisation, devising and creative writing, and at the end there was a small sharing in which the young people were able to show their final work to each other.