Four Year Report June 2004 – June 2008
From drama groups in local village halls, to large youth theatres run by theatre professionals, Promote YT are working hard to ensure every young person across Scotland can access, a quality, safe, and enjoyable theatre experience. KEN STOTT, PROMOTE YT (SCOTLAND) PATRON
CONTENTS 04DIRECTOR’S WELCOME06 CHAIR’S STATEMENT08AIMS & OBJECTIVES 10THE STORY SO FAR11NATIONAL FESTIVAL OF YOUTH THEATRE13SKILL UP16PROMOTION 18YOUTH THEATRE FORUM20YOUTH THEATRE SURVEYS22FINANCIAL REPORT24CREATIVE PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS26STAFF & BOARD MEMBERS28 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Over 8000 young people from diverse backgrounds are engaged in youth theatre each week throughout Scotland. Youth Theatre is a power in its own right, supported and respected by the national theatre community. COLIN BRADIE, PROMOTE YT (SCOTLAND) DIRECTOR
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>Directors’
Welcome In the beginning there was nothing‌ then‌
Promote YT (Scotland) was set up by the makers of Youth Theatre to help develop & support the making of Youth Theatre. Our inauguration in 2004 saw the birth of a unique organisation, whose role was as its title suggested, to Promote Youth Theatre. Anyone who has engaged in a positive Youth Theatre experience, be it as a participant, practitioner or audience member, can never fail to appreciate the positive impact that it has on the young people involved. Youth Theatre is still very much an underrated art form. However the powerful social, creative and personal impact it has on young people cannot be denied. It should be accessible and affordable to all but is still very much on offer to a limited few in Scotland. The core aims and objectives of Promote YT (Scotland) have remained unchanged. We are, and always will be, committed to ensuring all young people in Scotland have access to a high quality youth theatre experience.
None of this would have been possible without the support of the many funders and associate creative partners who have worked with us over the past four years. Together, we have succeeded in instigating a series of a high profile initiatives and events that support this diverse and fickle sector we serve. I hope that this report celebrates the steps that Promote YT (Scotland) has taken to foster the development of Youth Theatre so far, whilst signifying our energy and commitment to the future. Promote YT (Scotland) can now assuredly continue to build on the foundations already laid, having been offered a secure stream of funding from the Scottish Arts Council until 2011. Thank you for continuing to support and engage with Promote YT (Scotland). Colin Bradie Director, Promote YT (Scotland)
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On average individual youth theatre groups engage with over 300 young people throughout a year.
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>Chairman’s
Statement
The last four years for Promote YT (Scotland) have been years of success. Operationally we have delivered two main annual events, SKILL UP and the National Festival of Youth Theatre (NFYT), alongside a range of other smaller initiatives. Financially there have been some difficulties, as with any fledgling organisation, but we have secured core funding from Scottish Arts Council (SAC) each year as well as from other trusts and foundations. Within the sector our reputation and the expectation of what we might achieve has continued to grow: interest in our work is steadily increasing and we now appeal to a much broader cross-section of practitioners than in 2004. Going forward, things are very positive. Our Business Plan includes several exciting new initiatives. We are now financially much more secure and most importantly we have the confidence of our sector, with whom we will work to develop high quality youth theatre provision for all young people in Scotland. Michael Richardson, Chair of the Board of Directors
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31 out of 32 regions have youth theatre provision in Scotland
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>Aims
& Objectives
Promote YT (Scotland) recognises youth theatre as a unique form of theatre practice which should > engage young people as active participants in the creative process > encourage the development of the whole person through the use of performing art techniques > view process & product as equally beneficial > aspire to standards of excellence in all areas Vision Statement Every young person in Scotland has the opportunity to participate in & benefit from high quality youth theatre experiences Mission Statement We will develop youth theatre in Scotland
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>The
Story So Far...
July 2003 The Scottish Arts Council review of Youth Theatre is published by Bonnar & Keenlyside
February 2007 SKILL UP training & networking event held in Drumnadrochit in association with Hi-Arts
November 2003 A Youth Theatre seminar in Aberdeen forms basis of Promote YT (Scotland)’s Aims & Objectives
October 2007 NFYT 07 at the RSAMD in Glasgow
June 2004 Promote YT (Scotland) is incorporated January 2005 Promote YT (Scotland)’s first training & networking event, “Exchange” at Pitlochry Festival Theatre July 2005 First National Festival of Youth Theatre (NFYT 05) at the macrobert, Stirling February 2006 Training @ networking event , SKILL UP, held in Glasgow in association with the National Theatre of Scotland May 2006 One day training event, Essential Marketing for Youth Theatres held at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh October 2006 NFYT 06 at Perth Theatre
November 2007 First Youth Theatre Forum hosted by Dundee Rep Theatre April 2008 SKILL UP training & networking event at Perth Concert Hall May 2008 Second Youth Theatre Forum held at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh June 2008 Promote YT (Scotland) launch “This City” outreach project in Aberdeen, in association with NFYT 08 October 2008 NFYT 08 in Aberdeen in partnership with Aberdeen City Council
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>
The National Festival of Youth Theatre Meet Create Learn Perform
The National Festival of Youth Theatre (NFYT) celebrates the dynamic, vibrant and inspirational work being created annually by youth theatres throughout Scotland and beyond. Held in a new and exciting venue each year NFYT gives young people the opportunity to perform, share in each other’s work, develop new skills, network through social events and celebrate what it means to be involved in youth theatre today. Year by year the popularity of NFYT has grown upon reputation with the 2008 event attracting over 300 participants from across Scotland. Now in its fourth year, NFYT has previously been held at the macrobert in Stirling, Perth Theatre and the RSAMD in Glasgow.
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NFYT 08 is being hosted in partnership with Aberdeen City Council. Promote YT (Scotland) & Glasgow based theatre company Glas(s) Performance, are co-ordinating an ambitious outreach project in support of this year’s festival. The aim of the project is not only to establish 3 new youth theatres in Aberdeen but to train & mentor 3 new youth theatre leaders. The culmination of the project will be the opening performance at NFYT 08 in October. The festival has already received international attention and will play host to youth theatres from Norway and Ireland. The plans for NFYT 09 have already begun and will be hosted in partnership with the Fife Theatre Trust.
2005 macrobert, Stirling 2006 Perth Theatre 2007 RSAMD, Glasgow 2008 Aberdeen Arts Centre & The Lemon Tree Four Year Report 13
> Skill
Up
Training & Networking Event
SKILL UP is the annual national training conference for all youth theatre practitioners, youth workers, teachers and anyone working with young people in a performing arts capacity. The initial training & networking event co-ordinated by Promote YT (Scotland) was called Exchange and became SKILL UP the following year. SKILL UP 2008 was the fourth event of its kind in the history of the organisation and was a sell out event, with over 100 delegates present from across Scotland. Promote YT (Scotland) endeavours to provide a broad range of quality training experiences. Aiming to appeal to everyone in the youth theatre sector; from established practitioners who wish to
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refresh their skills and network with colleagues through to individuals who are new to the sector and keen to make new contacts and gain experience. Promote YT (Scotland) anticipate that by offering an exclusive experience to delegates, young people will consequently receive an extensive and high level of facilitation through their leaders. Promote YT (Scotland) strives to establish a standard of best practice throughout the Scottish youth theatre sector by continuing to produce exemplary training events such as SKILL UP. It is our vision to set a benchmark that practitioners will endeavour to deliver to their young people.
2005 Pitlochry Theatre, Perth & Kinross 2006 Scottish Youth Theatre, Glasgow 2007 Craigmonie Centre, Highlands 2008 Perth Concert Hall
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I love the SKILL UP event & think it is so important in terms of communication YOUTH DRAMA WORKER
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>PROmotion
PROmotion is the all encompassing word for Promote YT (Scotland)’s network services incorporating the website, newsletter and mail outs to the sector. PROmotion originally began as the organisation’s Ebulletin, distributed to the youth theatre sector across Scotland from the beginning of January 2006 with news on the sector, performances and employment opportunities. Promote YT (Scotland)’s original website was launched in 2005 and was newly developed and re-launched in February 2008. Features such as the Find YTs page allow people to search for youth theatres in their area whilst the What’s On section features performances, training courses, workshops and other events for members of the sector to get involved in. The new Scripts section is interactive and designed to give drama workers, writers and young people the opportunity to access and share scripts for youth theatre shows more easily by uploading them onto the website.
The News section is packed with up to the minute information on youth performing arts, funding opportunities and updates from the organisation. Dedicated areas for the organisation’s 2 main events, NFYT & SKILL UP also allow for a better service to our members and dissemination of information. One of the new features on the website is the Jobs page with employment opportunities from the youth theatre sector from Scotland. The success of the website is largely due to the ability to update pages with the information as and when we receive it, thanks to the content management coming in- house. The response to the website has been outstanding, with over 40,000 hits in any one month. The website can be viewed at
www.promoteyt.co.uk
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77%
of youth theatres provide training for their staff which includes attendance at SKILL UP
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>
National Youth Theatre Forum
The Youth Theatre Forum was established by Promote YT (Scotland) in November 2007. Youth Theatre Forum meetings are an opportunity for anyone working in youth theatre to have a direct impact on the sector in which they work. They are designed to provide an informal platform for discussion & debate, exploring issues pertinent to the development of the youth theatre & youth performing arts sector. Meetings have so far been hosted at the Dundee Rep and the Royal Lyceum Theatre; copies of the minutes from these meetings are available from the Promote YT (Scotland) office.
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69% of youth theatres are supported by participants’ fees Four Year Report 20
> Youth
Theatre Surveys
2008
In January 2008, Promote YT (Scotland) launched its first Youth Theatre Survey since the SAC’s commission in 2003. It was a dual attempt to gauge the activity of youth theatres across Scotland and to map the sector. The main aims of the Youth Theatre survey were: > To establish an increase/decrease in participation > To determine trends of best practice > To discover areas where we can provide more developmental training for practitioners > To obtain a clearer idea of how many young people are involved with youth theatre/drama each week in Scotland > To ascertain areas which lack provision > To open up a dialogue with groups and organisations who are unaware of Promote YT
> To demonstrate to the relevant funding providers and policy makers the scope of youth theatre in Scotland In support of the Youth Theatre Survey, Promote YT (Scotland) administered a survey for freelance youth theatre practitioners within our network. This was to better understand the freelance work force and to discover how best the organisation can assist with training and support. Promote YT (Scotland) is committed to improving the needs of freelancers and are using initiatives such as the HUB, to encourage a dialogue between organisations and freelancers. The results of both surveys were presented at the Youth Theatre Forum meeting in May 2008. The results of these surveys are available upon request from the Promote YT (Scotland) office.
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You don’t need a budget of thousands to make people think, laugh and cry YOUTH THEATRE LEADER
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> Financial
Report
Incoming Resources
Year 1 04–05
Year 2 05–06
Year 3 06–07
Year 4 07–08*
Donations and legacies
£65,000
£70,000
£30,000
£70,005
From charitable activities
£13,991
£15,206
£40,751
£9,707
Total Incoming resources:
£78,991
£85,206
£70,751
£79,712
Charitable activities
£76,129
£70,124
£68,748
£77,473
Governance costs
£1,000
£2,973
£1,597
£2,998
Total resources expended:
£77,129
£73,097
£70,345
£80,471
Resorces Expended
*Audit in process at time of print
£90,000 £80,000
Income Expenditure
£70,000 £60,000 £50,000 £40,000 £30,000 £20,000 £10,000 £0 Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4 Four Year Report 23
89%
of youth theatres engage with NFYT
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> Creative
Partners & Supporters
As a charitable organisation Promote YT (Scotland) relies heavily on funding providers and partners to enable us to realise our strategic aims and objectives. In addition to the annual core support kindly provided by the Scottish Arts Council, Promote YT (Scotland) would like to acknowledge & thank the following, all of whom have supported our work over the past 4 years: Aberdeen City Council City of Glasgow Council Clackmannanshire Council Hi-Arts Highlands & Islands Enterprise JTH Charitable Trust Lloyds TSB Foundation Perth & Kinross Council The Foundation for Sport & Arts The Foyle Foundation The Garfield Weston Foundation The Gannochy Trust The Hugh Fraser Foundation The Robertson Trust
Creative partners have included ARTIXOC Arts in Motion Birds of Paradise Borderline Theatre Company Citizen’s Theatre/ TAG Theatre Company Eden Court Horsecross Federation of Scottish Theatre Glas(s) Performance Highland & Islands Theatre Network National Theatre of Scotland Playwrights Studio Plutôt la Vie Pitlochry Festival Theatre RSAMD Scottish Youth Theatre Solar Bear Visible Fictions YDance Yellow Mellow Creative Arts Promote YT (Scotland) engages with a core group of over 50 youth theatres nationwide. In addition to these core youth theatres, Promote YT (Scotland)’s information services reaches a further network of over 250 individuals and arts organisations. Four Year Report 25
Youth Theatre is “The engagement of children & young people as active participants in the performing arts, where their participation is central to the creative process” PROMOTE YT MEMORANDUM ARTICLES, 2004
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> Promote
YT (Scotland) Staff & Board members
Promote YT (Scotland) is a company limited by guarantee & is a charity registered with the Inland Revenue. The organisation is overseen by a Board of Directors who meet 6 times a year. The Board aim to have a balanced membership including representation by lay members with particular skills which can enhance the experience of the practicing members.
STAFF Director Colin Bradie Development Officer Caroline Donald Communications Administrator Kirsty Dickson BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair of the Board Michael Richardson Artistic Director / Chief Executive West Lothian Youth Theatre Company Secretary Colin Bradie Director Promote YT (Scotland) Vice-Chair Neil Mitchell Local Director Lloyds TSB Scotland
The Promote YT (Scotland) office is managed by 3 core staff members who manage the day to day operating procedures of the organisation. Where additional assistance or expertise is required, it is sourced externally from organisations or individuals on a freelance basis.
Patron Promote YT (Scotland) is supported by the successful Scottish actor; Ken Stott
Jen McLeod HR Professional Advisor Scottish Executive John Haswell Drama Development Officer Shetland Arts Trust Ben Jeffries Head of Marketing macrobert Theatre Mary McCluskey Artistic Director / Chief Executive Scottish Youth Theatre Jennifer McGregor Associate Director (Community) Perth Theatre Nick Fearne Arts Development Officer Moray Council Gillian Howie Student & freelancer Sarah Brigham Associate Director (Creative Learning) Dundee Rep Theatre Four Year Report 27
You guys are doing a great job ! NFYT PARTICIPANT ON PROMOTE YT (SCOTLAND)
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> Acknowledgments Photography by Camilla Adams. All images taken at past Promote YT (Scotland) events Report design by Emma Quinn Original NFYT and SKILL UP logos designed by KINETIC All figures and text were correct at the time this report went to print. Statistics based on Promote YT (Scotland) Youth Theatre Survey March 2008 and Promote YT (Scotland) Freelancers Survey April 2008. Promote YT (Scotland) is interested to receive feedback on any aspects of this report, please get in touch using the details below. Promote YT (Scotland) Rosebery House, 9 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh, EH12 5EZ T 0131 313 6810 F 0131 313 6800 E info@promoteyt.co.uk W www.promoteyt.co.uk Promote YT (Scotland) is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. Registered in Scotland Guarantee number 269952 Recognised as a charity number SC035765 Promote YT (Scotland) is a member of the Federation of Scottish Theatre and the Theatre Forum for Scotland. Promote YT (Scotland) additionally works closely with the National Association of Youth Theatre (England) and the National Association of Youth Drama (Ireland)
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Youth theatre is the engagement of children & young people as active participants in the performing arts, where their participation is central to the motivation of the creative process. PROMOTE YT (SCOTLAND|) MEMOS & ARTICLES, JULY 2004