Losing It

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.

Holistic Support

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:

• 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.

Lana Leigh Now at Guildford School of Acting after completing Foundation course at Italia Conti

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.

Creative Lab

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.

Moving forwards

19/20 Building for the Future in uncertain times

In order to drive the ongoing success of our three-pillar approach, through 2019/20 we maintained financial rigour & discipline driving towards our plan, but quickly adapting to the challenges presented by the pandemic.

Of particular note: • Three year plan – we continued to perform against the Three Year Plan, but adopted a more short-term plan to allow flex reacting to the pandemic • Funding model transition – ongoing successful funding through trust & foundation applications and very successful pandemic support funding, including significant support from the Arts Council • External Recognition – Pre-eminent external funders continue to recognise and support Peer

Productions for its work • Governance & Board - well established annual rhythm of key review of risks, policies & procedures and ongoing commitment to expand Board with open recruitment following key skills-gap analysis.

Successfully adopted new Articles of Association allowing future expansion of Peer Productions in line with future ambitions

20/21 Moving Forwards

In post-pandemic environment we will now prepare & approve next 3 year Strategic Plan (should have been 2021-2024 but delayed due to pandemic), including evolution of Peer Production’s plans building on digital media skills and reach achieved during pandemic.

• Governance & Board – ongoing open recruitment for skills gaps as

Peer Productions builds for the future • Branding & marketing focus – ongoing work to evolve a clear articulation for potential young actors & potential funders of each of Peer Productions’ products & brands. Peer Productions has a compelling and proven track record and we will focus on articulating this and having a clearer brand • Growth strategy – Peer Productions is proud of its products and the proven success of the Three Pillar Strategy, but we seek to make our work accessible to a much wider audience. We are working to develop the strategy for this including considering the viability of

projects working internationally with India as our current prototype • Funding evolution – We are proud of the changes already made to our funding pipelines and we would now like to expand this even further with longer term partnerships and community organisation involvement, hoping to move forward with the Surrey Wellbeing

Partnership in this year • Secure long-term home for charity – either owning and running premises or signing longer term lease in own space or at established arts venue • External viewpoints - Reaching out to more creatives and starting different conversations with alternative view points, by actively engaging in conferences, looking to work in partnerships, meeting with other charities and employing a larger range of people • Keeping focus on our mission - Always making a difference in the lives of our beneficiaries, employees, volunteers and the wider community