Dancing with lead boots

BYT is delighted to announce that they received NPO funding from April 2012 - March 2015 (subject to funding agreement.) We will be receiving an increase of 9% to develop the youth theatre as a cultural venue.  This is something we are passionate about, because we feel we will enable the community of young people we serve and their families to engage with a range of performances and other cultural events.

Part of our bid was also concerned with developing the youth theatre as a hub for other youth theatres, and this is something we are really interested in too - we know how lucky we are to have a venue (and a purpose built venue at that) and wish to extend the use of the venue to other youth theatres locally, regionally and nationally (as well as internationally).

This has been a strange few days.  Of course we are delighted that we have received this great news - but it is inevitably tempered by the news that so many of our collaborators and co-conspirators have not been given NPO status.  We extend to them our goodwill. 

Meet 10k Team BYT Sponsored run...

I don't know, the months just whizz past.

How can it be March?  How can it be the middle of March? How can there only be 64 training days left to our Great Manchester Run?  Erm...

We are doing the Great Manchester Run (that's six miles) to raise funds for the youth theatre so please support us by following the link.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/BYT

For those of you who don't know us - 14 adults have volunteered to take part in a bid to raise £3,500 (with a match of  a potential match of £3,500), most of them new to running because they passionately believe in the value of the work we do here and they want to support us by discomforting themselves and training for the run.

Meet the Team:-

Meet our team captain Mr Daniel Armitage - renowned Santander employee of this parish.  Daniel is an ex-member and he says that he's taking part because Burnley Youth Theatre has made a big difference to his life.

Another ex-member, Laura Crymble is also part of our team - she's squeezing her training around her university degree.  She says, "Youth Theatre was my escapism! It gave me the opportunity and confidence to get involved in a variety of different activities whilst mixing and making friends with people I would never normally meet."  Laura wants other young people to have this opportunity too.

Poppy Cooper will be joining us directly from the US of A where she's currently based.  She probably won't be green. I think she's secretly quite good!

Then there's Mr Davies - Gareth (below).  He used to work for us, and in common with most people who have worked with us, Burnley Youth Theatre, as he says, keeps hold of a part of your heart forever.  (I don't think he'll be wearing the Santa Claus suit although he is quite shy!) A good mate of Gareth's, Craig is running too.

The parents are muscling in  - Dermot Patterson, Steve Martin, Tom and Sam Root are all running with us as well!  When asked, Sam said, "Well, we've got legs!"  I'm guessing all these guys are pretty fast to be honest (they won't be running with the fruit!)  I'll upload pictures, just as soon as I've asked permission! Special thanks go to these for doing this when they are really busy - we really appreciate it!

Two current members of staff, aside from me are running too:- Sarah Porter who has only been with us a term, but who still thinks we are worth a punt and the intrepid Anthony Briggs (above), both dancers, both pretty fit (I'm guessing) will be joining us.  Anthony has knee issues though, and expects them to pop out before the end of the race!

These guys will be joined by Rob Howell - all round good egg, and stalwart of the arts scene in Lancashire.  And when I last spoke to him - he hadn't even started his training!  Thanks Rob!

Our intrepid Chair who has managed to avoid running for more than 40 years, she says, and who has taken up the challenge because she is passionate about the youth theatre and doing her absolute best to support us.

Then there's me. Already green with worry...

Please support us...


http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/BYT

And why are we all discomforting ourself in this way?  Well, because we all believe that the Youth Theatre is a great place and that it requires support.  This is a difficult time - and the sum we're aiming for here £7,000 in total - will make a massive difference to our young people.  It will support those who would not otherwise be able to join us and it will help keep the building open. It will help us add further workshops, pay for leaders and ensure that we can continue to make a difference to the lives of young people from a variety of backgrounds, equipping them to make a successful transition into adulthood and enabling them to creatively take their next steps.

Please support us.  We would really appreciate it! THANK YOU :)

DODGY CLUTCH - 25th February, 2011

Come to Dodgy Clutch's Xolisile's Song on Friday 25th February, 2011 - 7:30pm supported by Spot On rural touring - http://www.spotonlancashire.co.uk/


Dodgy Clutch Theatre Company are coming to Burnley Youth Theatre on 25th February, 2011 at 7.30pm - http://www.dodgyclutch.com/newsstory/?id=19 - Their work is original, accessible, entertaining, involving and family friendly.  It looks brilliant! Tickets cost just £4 and £6 although we will accept a donation if that is more than you can spare.  Please help us make this evening a success!  Tickets are available from 01282 427767 - from 10:00 am onwards weekdays.  We look forward to hearing from you!

(Xolisile's Song photograph courtesy of Dodgy Clutch Theatre Company)

Ambitions.  We've got a few...

Burnley Youth Theatre has one of the few purpose built youth theatres in the country - it's a great building, and a fantastic space.  The building was supported by the National Lottery, and the NWDA - and we know we're lucky to have it.  It seats 158 - and provides us with an excellent space to play all our shows, run workshops, conferences, meetings and so on

The building is well used throughout the evenings of weekdays with workshops and projects. On Fridays and Saturdays we have fewer needs for the space ourselves, and are looking for ways to use the space that are beneficial both to our young people and to the wider community of Burnley.

Our absolute ambition is to encourage small and medium size companies to see us a potential venue when they are touring new work.  We feel that we are well-placed to be this venue because very few other venues in East Lancashire are able to offer the size and quality of venue we can provide.  And because we want our young people and their extended families to have access to high quality theatre of all kinds on their doorsteps.  Being able to see a wide variety of shows extends young people's understanding of theatre (frankly it extends us all) and what might be possible... here - within our own space - and to say loudly and clearly that professional theatre is not other, or elsewhere but here.  Now. And just think (we thought!) no drive to Manchester to see professional high quality and innovative theatre.  Genius...

And so to Dodgy Clutch Theatre Company - on the 25th February, 2011 7:30pm

We saw the possibilities of this company and thought it was a great piece to really take a chance on developing our receiving house credentials.  They are a great company - innovative and clever. Here is a clip from an earlier show 'Elephant'

Take a look - and then book your tickets for Xolisile's Song.  You wouldn't want to miss out now, would you?

01282 427767 from 10:00 am every day ;)

Shout out!

The thing is we really have to get better at shouting about all the amazing things we get up to in the course of a week.  The problem is we're so busy doing all the amazing things that quite often we don't have time to tell everyone about them.  I know, I know - we need to make time.

I used to have this idea that there could be a sliding door that I could whizz through and enter a virtual vortex where I could catch up on all the things I needed to do...but that doesn't really seem to be a practical option, unless anyone knows how to do that?  Is there a virtual vortex?  Can we squeeze through it into another world?

So, this week...

Our Arrow group are fresh from a trip to Derry where they worked, in tandem with another group from Active8, Bolton with a youth theatre there, on the business of challenging and working with difference.  This is the first part of an exchange, and the group from Derry will be working with us at half term to create a piece of theatre that challenges stereotypes and enables young people from different cultures to get along.  This only really tells half the story - the whole trip was preceded by a long drawn out process of getting a passport for one of the group.  We were certain, in the end, it wouldn't arrive in time but it did - at 9:00 o'clock on Friday morning necessitating a last minute dash to the airport to get the young person concerned to the airport on time.

Aside from our regular 20 weekly sessions - we are also currently working on a number of other key projects:-

1) Healthy High - this sees us working in partnership with four schools to develop pieces of theatre around health issues that are concern to young people. There are weekly sessions in school(s) to develop the work. They will share this work in an event in March.

2) Cut Short - work is taking place with four youth and community groups in the development of four short films around the prevention of knife crime.  One group have completed, the other three are ongoing  with filming for another group taking place on Saturday.

3) We are working on a weekly project in a local primary school.

4) Different Strokes - a community cohesion project that we are delivering for Curious Minds, and in partnership with Sir John Thursby and Blessed Trinity schools.

5) We are contributing to an enquiry project in a school in deepest darkest Lancashire.

6) We are rehearsing two plays - a newly adapted version of The Selfish Giant - Greek Chorus with 10 year olds! And What if? a devised piece of theatre with our older young people. Both culminate in April.

7) The participant reps are visiting all groups, and beginning to generate interest in two upcoming events - firstly an art project that starts next Monday working with Shahida Ahmed and a double hander theatre trip to the Octagon to see Romeo and Juliet and the youth theatre to see Dodgy Clutch.

8) We are preparing a presentation with 6 young people to take to a Proud of Burnley event.

9) We have an ongoing session in Pendle with a group of young people.

10) We are working with five schools in Burnley and Pendle on the Start project, and beginning to deliver workshops in the run up to the next show they'll be seeing with us "Midsummer Night's dream" by The Faction Theatre Company.

11) A weekly session for young people with disabilities "No Limits"

12) Planning new work for next term around Aspirations, a film for the Samaritans, A Long Stand (a work experience project) and some work with the Mary Burberry Unit at the hospital, and with looked after children in Rossendale.

13) We've just taken part in a mini-youth theatre festival (weekend before last) and some training for our workshop leaders with NAYT.

14) Oh, you know just doing office type stuff. Paper work, and fundraising, and planning our Christmas show (yes) funded, our trip to Edinburgh, our summer school, our summer term shows, and two or three other big projects we're keen to get off the ground. And all the other stuff that's necessary but not as interesting as this...

There are only 3 of us in the core team.  And our part time ops assistant.  And an FJF assistant (who leaves us next week!  We'll so miss him!) So we don't have time to tweet or facebook as much as we'd like to.  We really need to get better at this.  And hopefully we will.  But if we go a bit silent, really just give us a bell or a kick or a punch because I'm certain we'll be doing something of interest that we haven't had time to shout about, or maybe have forgotten to mention.

On that note - I've probably missed loads of important stuff off the list.  You know how it is.

All over bar the shouting...

I can't claim for a single second that this was my idea, but here is a wordle of BYT's main aims and its imagined future. (Thank you Marcus Romer, thank you Chris Hammond.)  Now that the world is shaped differently, and the future is shifting and always tantalisingly out of reach,  and whilst there are still things to attend to make it all happen, it seemed pertinent to share our wordle here too. What's interesting about this wordle are the five main words that jump out - youth work young people theatre.  I have been trying for some time to pin down our USP and perhaps that covers it?  That is what we do - youth work young people theatre. 

Of course, that isn't all we do - as the wordle demonstrates... we're ambitious about technology, about engaging young people wherever they are and about extending our practice to include young people excluded from participation. We feel incredibly fortunate to have our amazing space - and are looking to develop it beyond ourselves as a hub of excellence for youth theatres in general.  As a designated youth space, one thing we can do is encourage young people to get involved, have their say, and make their own work - and we can prioritise that here.  We can say that the work of young people is central to what we do because it is.  I extend an invite to any young person who wants to make theatre to come to us and talk to us about it... this is the place for you to do precisely that. Any young emerging young artist needs to look us up and get in touch.  The space at BYT needs you... 

But that isn't all we do.  We are also about the bigger picture: opening up possibilities for young people to really grab hold of, to shake things up, try them on for size, shape the world, change it - think long and hard about what is possible.   We say - at the youth theatre - you can imagine yourself differently - you can imagine the world differently.  

My mother used to have a habit of using a phrase all wrong - of making her own world and superimposing it on the real one.  Many of her sayings are far too rude and sweary to record here but she often used to say things that were uniquely her own. If for example, you said that food was hot she would say, "You sit with your backside in the oven, and you'd be hot too."  Another favourite, in response to my saying, "I really wish I had...." was "Poo in one hand and wish in the other and see which gets fullest first."  (Obviously she didn't say backside and she didn't say poo!)  These sayings and half sayings have served me very well over the years. She is a pragmatic down to earth person, believing that your feet should be on the ground, and that there is a world of difference between need and want.  

Young people need a space to become themselves.  Young people need to find a way of responding to and exploring the world.  Young people need somewhere safe, somewhere to express themselves, to be creative - young people need a gateway into the cultural possibilities that the arts and theatre in particular can offer.  They have that here at BYT in pragmatic, down to earth ways.  

I have spent all day with another of my mother's idioms floating around my head.  This week has been particularly exhausting and the whole team have been striving to ensure that the youth theatre has the future we hope for - we strive every week for this, of course, but this week has been especially pressing.   As we sent off a particularly important application, I kept thinking, "Well, it's all over bar the shouting..."

The way my mother used to use this, I always felt that the worst had passed - that we'd given it our best shot and that we'd done all we could - not that we'd win necessarily but that it was finished with.  And that's how I feel now.   Who knows whether we'll get exactly what we want?  Who knows if the future we imagined is the future that will come - but there will be a future, of one kind or another - that is certain and in that sense, it really is all over bar the shouting - as sure as eggs is eggs the future will come. 

Because it matters - Trade and Serendipty

Happy New Year.  Okay.  It's not the new year, and it may not be all that happy for some folk.  But I am a born optimist.  (This annoys me.)    I've worked as hard as I have ever worked over the holiday period, and I'm still surrounded by disparate thoughts and random jottings that seem to be relevant and things that somehow need to be included in that which shall not be named.  You all know what I'm talking about. I can't go anywhere, see anyone, read anything without thinking "Ah, that!"  For instance, Anthony Howard, who died recently apparently said that the chief job of the newspaper editor was to nurture new talent.  (Today programme, Radio Four, 5/012011).  Much like the chief job of the Artistic Director of the Burnley Youth Theatre, I thought.  My chief role anyway is to nurture young talent. It's sometimes easy to forget that when you're knee deep in paperwork that your cat is using as an improvised luge. Anthony Howard also refused to believe that journalism was a profession.  It was, according to him, a trade.  I like that.  A trade.  I suddenly felt, hearing that, like I'm not some terrible interloper in the world - I can, legitimately, be my father's daughter.  A tradeswoman.  And I know what Anthony Howard is inferring, too.  Seeing the arts and cultural sector as a trade does, at the very least, make us re-engage with with two things...

1) Trade acknowledges a specialism - a knowing of something and a learning process that got us to that level of knowing

and

2) That we don't know everything.  That there are other tradespeople out there, who make up a rich ecology of arts, culture and the real world, people who know other things better than we do.

And to take the analogy to its conclusion - we will have to actually begin trading with others to enable what we do to work. A plumber might have the most amazing bathroom suite in the world plumbed in exquisitely, but if he doesn't bother with a lovely woodworked or some sort surround, it won't look great - in fact, it might look a bit unsightly.

So, here I am doing that which cannot be named (well obviously not right at this minute) when I get this bright idea.  I might not use it, I think, but you know I'm a bit of a magpie, so even if I don't use it it will still come in useful at some other point.  I send out a general call to a number of folk, ex participants to summarise what the youth theatre has meant to them. Well - this is where the serendipity bit comes in.  Because what I was expecting was, of course, to say how marvellous the youth theatre was and  how brilliant a time was had - and what I got was a moving and profound affirmation of the work of the youth theatre over the last 40 years and a reason, as if I'd needed one, to carry on.  Because it matters.

Take Kris, for example:

"Burnley Youth Theatre literally shaped my life. Every single person has artistic flair within them and for me BYT manifested and nurtured my inner artistic,creative self. Not only did BYT teach me all about Acting but also the value of respect and compassion for other people"

Take Rhiannon:

"My time at Burnley Youth Theatre made a massive impact upon my life. It gave me an appreciation of Burnley, as well as the impetus to think of life beyond my town, and the skills to pursue that life. Most of my closest friends were made there, and some of the best experiences of my life were either at, or in connection with, BYT. I am profoundly grateful for the opportunities that came because of my connection with the organisation-many of which were utterly outside the realm of the Arts- as well as for the people I met, worked alongside and explored life's possibilities with. Without a doubt, I would be a very different person were it not for my time at BYT."

Take Daniel:

"Without the Youth Theatre I would not have had the confidence to get me where I am today. The Youth theatre gives confidence and brings out passion, not only for the arts but for essential life skills needed to conquer life changing events. Now as a highly successful financial adviser I have a lot to thank Burnley Youth Theatre for."

Take Anna:

"I cannot thank BYT enough for the opportunities it provided for me: the exciting workshops and plays; the creative and social outlet in an encouraging environment; the chance to meet people from other backgrounds; the experience of going on tour; and my first directing opportunity. BYT allowed me to meet some of my closest friends, but it also gave me access to theatrical resources and workshops that were not available in school. I think it is largely thanks to the opportunities given by BYT that I was granted a place to study theatre directing at Birkbeck College this year." 

And on.  And on.  There were dozens like this.  People in their 20s and 30s and 40s who testified and time and again how profound the youth theatre experience was for them; how in big and small ways it has shaped their lives.  Taken them places they never expected to go.  Given them enduring friendships.  Offered them skills to work inside the cultural sector, and outside of it.  So it's not an idle or whimsical thought about the impact we have. It's a fact.  I knew it, of course.  But it was serendipitous to be reminded quite so profoundly at this point in time.

Collaboration - a tribute to Alan Daiches.

This is not what I am supposed to be doing.  I am supposed to be swimming laps in the pool.  Or cycling to nowhere.  Or running up a hill.  But my legs won't collaborate and my heart isn't quite in it. All the different bits are working on separate projects.

After a Twitter conversation yesterday I started to think about collaboration.  It's an interesting word defined as,

"The art of working jointly together."

This doesn't sound dangerous - does it?  And yet we are often torn about working in cahoots with others, sharing our ideas (in case someone steals them), and developing projects together in case someone runs off with what little funding there is.  Well, think bigger.

As Ken Robinson says, it isn't just a matter of talking within organisations but talking across them.  As he points out, this is vital for our survival.  Collaboration is all there is if we want to meet the future. For too long everything has been packed in boxes and kept apart. Keeping things internal and tight means only one thing - the law of entropy.  And we all know what happens with that. Boom! (And not in a good way.)

Two stories about collaboration:-

1.  I was once slapped across the face by a fellow poet for allegedly 'stealing' an idea.  I really hadn't.  We'd had a conversation and I wrote something based on that conversation.  As she struck my face I can recall the distinct clatter as my (very trendy) glasses scuttled across the road.  I was so shocked, I picked them up, got in the car and went home.  We never really worked together again. This is a shame because that partnership was the funniest and best time I have ever had in my life.  I have never laughed more, never felt more excited, determined or scared. Our work as poets, as history will testify, was better together than it was apart. And yet, it was hard to square the circle of both of our ambitions and hopes, and hard to separate who had thought up what once the collaboration began. And difficult if we wrote something apart and succeeded where the other might have failed.  We were also younger, and more driven and that can get in the way too. It did.

2. Alan Daiches, friend of the youth theatre, driver of projects and totally committed to the cause spent many, many unpaid hours working for the better good. He was, of course, like us all, not perfect - but he was a very big part of the reason that the youth theatre was built, and a very big part of the funding bids that went into that process as well as sitting on committees and representing the youth theatre at events.  He also had a lot of experience writing applications for other projects so that the arts team within the youth theatre could get on with delivering the day to day work with the young people.  He exemplified what collaboration means in practice.  The studio theatre is named for him along with a quote of his,

"We can achieve anything, as long as you don't mind who gets the credit."

This is a maxim that sits at the heart of partnership working.  Some years on from his death, the current crop of young people we have, have no idea of him or of the hours he put in to making the building a reality - which is exactly the way he would have liked it.  I like to think that the collaboration continues silently in all the joint operations that take place between the young people and that studio through the creation of shows, through workshops and through a myriad other uses that take place day after day - big and small.  They all count.

Right.  Now for breakfast.

Mandy :)