Make Plays Change Lives
Annual Report 19/20
50 Days: Alone Together Why?
Feedback
As the unprecedented first lockdown stretched out before us, we saw first-hand the impact on the mental health of the young actors on our development programme. Our partners at other youth charities were reporting similar concerns and there was emerging data from Young Minds which suggested that for young people with existing mental health needs the pandemic was experiencing significant adverse effects with 83% of those surveyed saying their mental health was worse as a result of the pandemic. The continued decline in young people’s mental health has continued during this recent period with NHS digital’s survey finding rates of probable mental disorders have increased since 2017. In 2020, one in six (16.0%) children aged 5 to 16 years were identified as having a probable mental disorder, increasing from one in nine (10.8%) in 2017. In a bid to provide a meaningful, creative opportunity for our young actors and a useful resource for teenagers nationwide the idea of 50 Days: Alone Together was born..
" We used 50 Days at the end of lockdown, after I saw a recommendation for it on a forum. We were struggling to find new content after almost a year of avoiding RSE due to lockdowns/ periods of self-isolation. The videos were fab - easy for students to access on their own or for us to share and great content. The characters were so engaging and the students (Y9) loved trying to guess what the issues would be with each character and where each relationship was going. It covered so many of the RSE topics we wanted to address - from gender identity to controlling relationships, plus mental health topics such as bereavement and eating disorders. The supporting resources online made it really easy to create quick lesson plans and stimulate discussion. It was definitely one of the best resources we found for home learning."
What?
Kerry Dixon Full-time PHSE teacher at Nunthorpe Academy, Middlesbrough
During the first lockdown, actors from our Actor Development Programme worked with Artistic Director Nina Lemon to create a new interactive, improvised miniseries exploring the mental health impact of the pandemic through the story of 10 teens and their first 50 Days of lockdown. This six part drama was filmed entirely using zoom before being edited into prospero smartscripts which allow for information, advice and guidance about specific mental health and wellbeing issues to be blended with the creative content. The story was also shared via Instagram and YouTube and a designated webspace was designed and launched..
How? We built a new partnership with digital theatre makers C&T and upskilled our staff to learn how to make prospero smartscripts. We then worked with improvisation expert Lucy Fennel to develop the actors’ craft. Nina curated the storyline and directed but the words came from the young actors themselves resulting in a highly engaging and truthful unique piece of digital theatre. We then worked with a professional editor and social media producer.
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"We used 50 days alone together for our PSHE lessons at Firth Park Academy with y8,9 and 10 in September and the context was pitched perfectly for the covid return and issues that arose. It allowed us to discuss a range of issues with our students using characters they could relate to. This was particularly supportive for teaching about bereavement, mental health, friendships and coping mechanisms. The story and supporting resources were excellent and provoked just the right amount of discussion points and asked the questions in a non leading way, which made for some excellent reflection of our students’ experiences during lock down. I cannot recommend the use of these resources enough and made a power point and shared this with our Academy, Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) PSHe teachers. We are very much looking forward to the second series- it was an invaluable teaching tool for our covid recovery plan. Thank you for making it and sharing it for free online." Frankie Arundel Associate Assistant Principal, Firth Park Academy, Sheffield
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