Make Plays Change Lives
Annual Report 19/20
Training the next generation One-year, free actor development programme
Testimonies
We trained 18 young artists and all completed the programme. Of these: • 17 achieved their Level 4 Creative Practitioner Diploma and 1 received an Advanced Level 4 Certificate from RSL with 11 achieving Distinction, 4 achieving Merit and 2 passes. • Of the 16 who chose to apply for drama school or university, 13 received offers of places and learners have gone on to top drama schools including East15, Guildford School of Acting, Italia Conti, Mountview, Rose Bruford, Lipa, Manchester Theatre School and Royal Welsh Academy. This year the Actor Development Programme was made up of: • Masterclasses and skills-based workshops led by industry professionals • Touring in high quality theatre in education productions • Developing individual practice and showcasing work • Working as creative team for creative lab projects, this year this was 50 Days: Alone Together • Working towards accredited qualifications • One to one mentoring and support with next stage of areer development
Daniel Johnson Now at Manchester Theatre School Peer set me on the career path I’m on now by not only giving me great industry experience in the tours, the showcase, and the masterclasses, but also by allowing me to try new things, like scoring a musical and helping with the production side of the shows. It’s thanks to Peer Productions that I know exactly what I want to do as a career, and have the skills and experience to do so.
My year at Peer Productions gave me the space to grow into the artist I am today. Providing a wide variety of performancebased workshops, I had the opportunity to explore my craft without worrying about ‘getting things right’. Instead, I focused on being present and engaged in the rehearsal room. Similarly, the chance to tour to different schools and use theatre to have a clear impact on people’s lives is an experience that is unique to Peer’s ethos. In addition, I’m pleased that I got to work and collaborate with different age groups in my cohort because each members’ perspective and background in performance was allowed to shine in the company. This has carried on inspiring me even till today.
Holistic Support
Creative Lab
In recent years we have noticed a marked increase in the amount of mental health challenges reported by young people attending our programme. In response, moving forward:
Alongside our touring and outreach work our young actors also engaged in a range of creative lab projects. Sadly, our planned productions of Girls Like That and Women Like Us had to be cancelled, but we were able to deliver a studio production of Wolves Are Coming For You.
• We provide all learners with access to Health Assured app which provides access to information, advice and guidance on a range of topics as well as confidential selfreferral for counselling and mental health support. • We employ an adolescent mental health expert to provide regular sessions on mental resilience and self care. • Each learner meets with a dedicated staff mentor at least once a month. • We have continued our learner voice scheme with learner reps elected by their peers.
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Lana Leigh Now at Guildford School of Acting after completing Foundation course at Italia Conti
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