40093582 MA Dissertation.docx



MA DISSERTATION FOR submission to Queens university BelfastSpace to PlayYouth theatre and the built arts infrastructure in rural areas of Northern IrelandSubmitted by Molly Goyer Gorman, BA in accordance with Higher Degree Regulations for the Degree of MA in Arts Management in the School of Creative Arts of Queen’s University, Belfast on 16 September 2013NOTE TO READERThis dissertation was submitted in early September 2013, and the fieldwork was carried out in June, July and early August 2013. There have been several relevant changes in the N.I. youth arts sector since then which I would like to highlight.In April 2015, the Ulster Association of Youth Drama (UAYD), which is referred to throughout this dissertation, merged with the Northern Ireland Theatre Association (NITA) to become a new organisation called TheatreNI. TheatreNI is the support and development body for the performing arts in Northern Ireland, including in its widest terms the areas of drama, dance, physical theatre, musical theatre and opera. Youth drama is a key priority for TheatreNI and the organisation has retained several of UAYD’s flagship projects including the Partnerships in Communities initiative, which gives youth drama groups the opportunity to collaborate with a professional theatre company. Furthermore, one of TheatreNI’s aims is to ensure access to youth drama in all 11 council areas.The Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Youth Arts Strategy was launched on 25 September 2013. Therefore, the ‘Draft Youth Arts Strategy 2012-16’ referred to in this dissertation is no longer relevant. Readers should refer to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Youth Arts Strategy 2013-2017, available online at < ; [accessed 9 June 2015]. This is now a working strategy document. It is interesting to note that several actions in the ‘Draft Strategy’ were omitted in the final strategy. These ‘dropped actions’ include the following: ‘Encourage local councils and arts venues to provide young people with regular use of rehearsal space and opportunities to showcase their work’;‘Establish a dedicated funding pot that can provide small grants to individuals or groups of talented young people in support of their creative ventures’;‘Commission a series of Case Studies to illustrate the contribution professional, arts led approaches play in enhancing the formal and informal education of children and young people’‘Create an on-line data warehouse to capture and store examples of local, regional and international practice documenting the impact of youth arts activity within community and education contexts.’‘In collaboration with agencies and organisations working in the formal and informal youth sector, hold seminars to explore best practice in participative arts.’‘Work with sector stakeholders e.g. Culture NI, NITB, Belfast and Derry City Councils, in establishing an online one stop shop providing information on cultural an arts events on offer for children and young people (something similar to Young Scot)’‘Encourage our portfolio of youth arts clients to provide young artists with career development opportunities’.Some of these commitments were replaced in the final strategy with more generic objectives such as:‘Promote the delivery of quality arts opportunities for children and young people by encouraging more effective use of artists as catalysts for creative engagement’, and‘Encourage progression, sharing and development amongst the youth arts clients, in view of the importance of the network of arts organisations as the primary vehicle for improving the quality of arts provision.’Please refer to the Youth Arts Strategy 2013-17 pp. 82-83 for the complete list of objectives currently being implemented.It should also be noted that the overall Arts Council Strategy referred to in this dissertation was also a draft document. It has now been replaced by a fully-functional working strategy: Ambitions for the Arts: A Five Year Strategic Plan for the Arts in Northern Ireland 2013-18. This is available online at [accessed 9 June 2015]. There are several changes between the draft strategy and the final version. For example, in this dissertation I mention that the Draft Strategy includes the aim of developing bi-lateral Memoranda of Understanding with Belfast and Derry City Councils. In the final Strategy 2013-18, this commitment has been changed to: ‘Support the 11 new Local Councils to develop dedicated Arts Strategies’ – so the focus has been broadened out from the urban centres. Please note that some of the web links in my bibliography are no longer active. TABLE OF CONTENTS TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGEREF _Toc367019801 \h 4ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PAGEREF _Toc367019802 \h 7ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS PAGEREF _Toc367019803 \h 8ABSTRACT PAGEREF _Toc367019804 \h 9INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc367019805 \h 11CHAPTER 1: SETTING THE SCENE PAGEREF _Toc367019806 \h 131.1 Current definitions of youth theatre PAGEREF _Toc367019807 \h 131.2 Youth theatre in Northern Ireland, 1970s to 2013 PAGEREF _Toc367019808 \h 171.3 The term ‘rural’ PAGEREF _Toc367019809 \h 201.4 ACNI’s Capital Build Programme PAGEREF _Toc367019810 \h 211.5 Youth theatre and the built infrastructure PAGEREF _Toc367019811 \h 231.6 A sense of ownership of building, process and product? PAGEREF _Toc367019812 \h 24CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY PAGEREF _Toc367019813 \h 262.1 Research in this field to date PAGEREF _Toc367019814 \h 262.2 Theoretical influences PAGEREF _Toc367019815 \h 262.3 Delimitation of sample: the bell-wether model PAGEREF _Toc367019816 \h 292.4 Categorisation of sample PAGEREF _Toc367019817 \h 302.41 Youth theatre members PAGEREF _Toc367019818 \h 302.42 Venue managers PAGEREF _Toc367019819 \h 312.43 Youth theatre facilitators PAGEREF _Toc367019820 \h 322.44 Young artists from rural backgrounds PAGEREF _Toc367019821 \h 322.45 Representatives from funding and umbrella bodies PAGEREF _Toc367019822 \h 322.5 Research methodology PAGEREF _Toc367019823 \h 322.51 Consultation drama workshops PAGEREF _Toc367019824 \h 332.52 Semi-structured interviews PAGEREF _Toc367019825 \h 33CHAPTER 3: RESULTS OF FIELDWORK PAGEREF _Toc367019826 \h 353.1 Consultation workshops with young people PAGEREF _Toc367019827 \h 353.21 Sample of interviewees PAGEREF _Toc367019828 \h 403.4 Topics covered PAGEREF _Toc367019829 \h 423.41 Prioritisation of people or space PAGEREF _Toc367019830 \h 423.42 Arts communities and sporting communities PAGEREF _Toc367019831 \h 423.43 Review of Public Administration PAGEREF _Toc367019832 \h 433.44 Links between youth theatre participation and theatre attendance PAGEREF _Toc367019833 \h 433.45 Venues embedded in the community PAGEREF _Toc367019834 \h 433.46 A sense of ownership PAGEREF _Toc367019835 \h 443.47 Technical theatre PAGEREF _Toc367019836 \h 443.48 Benefits of youth theatre and need for their promotion PAGEREF _Toc367019837 \h 443.49 Capital Build Programme PAGEREF _Toc367019838 \h 453.50 Importance of quality facilitation PAGEREF _Toc367019839 \h 45CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF KEY THEMES FROM FIELDWORK PAGEREF _Toc367019840 \h 464.1 Limitations of infrastructure in rural areas PAGEREF _Toc367019841 \h 474.2 The thrill of a professional stage PAGEREF _Toc367019842 \h 514.3 Dedicated rural arts venues PAGEREF _Toc367019843 \h 524.31 Dynamic groups and leaders PAGEREF _Toc367019844 \h 524.32 Embedded venues, and shimmers of community PAGEREF _Toc367019845 \h 554.4 Links between youth theatre participation and theatre attendance PAGEREF _Toc367019846 \h 584.5 Towards a sense of ownership PAGEREF _Toc367019847 \h 59CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………………….. PAGEREF _Toc367019848 \h 645.1 Conclusions PAGEREF _Toc367019849 \h 645.11 Facilitator training PAGEREF _Toc367019850 \h 645.12 Links between groups and community venues PAGEREF _Toc367019851 \h 655.13 Promotion of benefits of youth theatre PAGEREF _Toc367019852 \h 665.14 Local authority advocacy PAGEREF _Toc367019853 \h 665.2 Areas for future research PAGEREF _Toc367019854 \h 665.3 Final remarks PAGEREF _Toc367019855 \h 68BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGEREF _Toc367019856 \h 69Books & articles PAGEREF _Toc367019857 \h 69Strategies, project reports & policy documents PAGEREF _Toc367019858 \h 70Interviews, consultation workshops and conference seminars PAGEREF _Toc367019859 \h 73Websites visited for general research purposes PAGEREF _Toc367019860 \h 76Other PAGEREF _Toc367019861 \h 77APPENDIX PAGEREF _Toc367019862 \h 0CASE STUDIES PAGEREF _Toc367019864 \h 1Case Study 1: Quadrangle Productions, Ballycastle PAGEREF _Toc367019865 \h 1Case Study 2: Craic Theatre and Arts Centre, Coalisland PAGEREF _Toc367019866 \h 4Case Study 3: The Hub Bt80, Cookstown PAGEREF _Toc367019867 \h 7EXAMPLE OF INTERVIEW DATA ANALYSIS PAGEREF _Toc367019868 \h 10Background PAGEREF _Toc367019869 \h 10Phone interview transcription PAGEREF _Toc367019870 \h 10Clustering of themes PAGEREF _Toc367019873 \h 14EXAMPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW PAGEREF _Toc367019874 \h 15REPORT ON SHOWSTOPPERS CONSULTATION DRAMA WORKSHOP PAGEREF _Toc367019875 \h 16Context PAGEREF _Toc367019877 \h 16The area PAGEREF _Toc367019878 \h 16The venue: The Bardic Theatre PAGEREF _Toc367019879 \h 17The group: Showstoppers PAGEREF _Toc367019880 \h 17Arrival & Introductions PAGEREF _Toc367019881 \h 17Anyone Who… PAGEREF _Toc367019882 \h 18Dominoes PAGEREF _Toc367019883 \h 20Walking Debate / This or That PAGEREF _Toc367019884 \h 20Final discussion PAGEREF _Toc367019885 \h 23COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE: THE HUB YOUTH THEATRE PAGEREF _Toc367019886 \h 24Anyone Who… PAGEREF _Toc367019887 \h 24Walking Debate PAGEREF _Toc367019888 \h 25ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSA heartfelt thank you to all my interviewees for giving of your time and thoughts. A huge thank you to Showstoppers at the Bardic and the Hub Youth Theatre. Special thanks to Stephanie Faloon and Carol Doey for assisting with the consultation workshops. Thanks to the Ulster Association of Youth Drama, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Young at Art for allowing access to unpublished documents relating to my research question. Thanks to Keara Fulton for her advice. A very special thank you to all involved in Young at Art’s Shankill Project, especially Bonnie Soroke (my mentor), Ali FitzGibbon and Claire Kelly. Thanks to Elizabeth Donaldson and the Spectrum Centre’s Art Den group, who provided the inspiration for this study: long may you thrive! Thanks to Colin and Claire at Promote YT. Finally, thank you to my excellent dissertation supervisor David Grant for keeping this work on track.This study is dedicated to my mother, Kerry Goyer, and to Katy English.1671955194310016, 449 words excl. footnotes (allowance for 10% over)400002000016, 449 words excl. footnotes (allowance for 10% over)ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMSACNIThe Arts Council of Northern IrelandDCALThe Department of Culture, Arts and LeisureGAAThe Gaelic Athletic AssociationLAMDAThe London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (UK’s largest statutory Speech and Drama awarding body)MACThe Metropolitan Arts Centre (Belfast)NAYDThe National Association for Youth Drama (umbrella body in Republic of Ireland)NINorthern IrelandOEDThe Oxford English DictionaryOFMDFMThe Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister (NI)RYTThe Riverside Youth TheatreUAYDThe Ulster Association of Youth Drama (umbrella body for youth theatre in NI)UYTThe Ulster Youth TheatreYFCUThe Young Farmers Clubs of UlsterYFCYoung Farmers ClubYTASYouth Theatre Arts Scotland (umbrella body - formerly Promote YT)N.B. In this dissertation, I use individuals’ full names on first mention. In subsequent mentions, I refer to interviewees by their first names and to any other individuals by their surnames.ABSTRACTThe Arts Council of Northern Ireland has recently come to the end of its twenty-year Capital Build Programme. A key aim of this programme was the provision of a dedicated arts facility within a twenty-mile radius of 99 per cent of households in Northern Ireland. In their recent evaluation of the programme, ACNI states that ‘more people than ever in NI have been able to access […] the arts, particularly in rural areas’, making repeated reference to the programme’s benefits to young people. However, a 2011 consultation by the Ulster Association of Youth Drama revealed that a lack of access to suitable facilities for workshops, rehearsals and performances is one of the key challenges faced by the youth theatre sector. The problem is particularly acute in rural areas. This dissertation attempts to gauge ways in which the built arts infrastructure is contributing to the development of youth theatre in selected rural areas of Northern Ireland. The focus is on independent community venues rather than local authority spaces. Drawing from my experience on Young at Art’s Shankill Audience Development Project, I explore what is meant by a ‘sense of ownership’ of an arts space, and how this can be fostered amongst young people. The fieldwork methods consist of consultation drama workshops with youth theatre groups and semi-structured interviews with practitioners. The sample of interviewees was determined with reference to the ‘bell-wether’ model, i.e. focusing on a few key dynamic leaders who are advancing the development of the sector in their local areas. Research methodology also drew on applied theatre theory including Taylor’s ‘art of crystallization’. The fieldwork results are analysed, cross-compared and considered against Lefebvre’s spatial theory.This dissertation concludes by asserting that, whilst improved access to premises and facilities is important for the advancement of the sector in rural areas, development of quality facilitators and advocacy for the sector at local government level are perhaps the key priorities. Recommendations are made for future areas of research, including investigation of the economic and social value of youth theatre activity to individuals, groups and wider society in Northern Ireland. INTRODUCTIONFrom July 2012 to May 2013, arts charity Young at Art undertook an audience development project in the Shankill, Highfield, Woodvale and Glencairn wards: areas of Belfast which experience high levels of deprivation. The project proposal notes that in these communities: ‘there is a perceived lack of ownership of some arts activities’. A projected outcome of the Shankill Project was that participants (schools, parents and children) would gain ‘access to, and ownership of’ public arts venues in the city. Belfast has recently enjoyed a period of high capital investment in the arts, with the development of the large-scale new venue the MAC and the renovation of several other cultural venues including the Lyric Theatre. The Shankill Project recognised that it may be difficult for some communities in the city to feel as if they have a stake in these venues, or, indeed, in the artistic activities which they house. I interned as Assistant Co-ordinator on the Shankill Project from December 2012 to May 2013. I was involved in a process of endeavouring to foster a sense of ownership of the arts in Belfast amongst groups and individuals from the project’s target communities. In my capacity as documenter and evaluator, I interviewed many children, parents and teachers about their experiences of live performance and exhibitions. I found that the older children (roughly in the age range of nine to fourteen) tended to focus on physical descriptions of the venue spaces. For example, one participant remembered ‘shiny and glittery stairs’ at the MAC. I had the privilege of accompanying the Spectrum Centre’s Art Den group on their visit to the MAC. The Art Den is a dynamic group of fifteen eight to fifteen- year-olds who meet during term-time to do visual art activities. They visited an Andy Warhol exhibition before attending a theatre performance. I was struck most not by the young people’s reactions to the exhibition and performance, but by the way in which they engaged with the MAC’s space. They were at first somewhat hesitant, sticking together as a group. They bought sweets and sat quietly together on seats shaped like cacti. However, a change in group dynamics took place when they visited Warhol’s ‘Silver Clouds’ installation. The young people began to relax and play with the oversized floating silver pillows. This playful mood increased on their emergence from the exhibition. They all piled onto a large sofa to have their photo taken, then split naturally off into groups. Several of the groups began to play-act. A fifteen-year-old began miming that she and her friends were having a ‘posh tea party’ at one of the foyer tables, and others followed suit. The mood was jubilant; the teenagers had found their ‘space to play’.This experience led me to reflect more deeply on Young at Art’s idea of building ownership of cultural venues as well as of arts activities. My artistic background is in youth theatre facilitation. I sit on the boards of the Ulster Association of Youth Drama and of Quadrangle Productions, a Ballycastle-based youth theatre group. I grew up in the tiny village of Cushendun where, as a teenager, I ran a youth drama scheme in the local parish hall. I was aware that ACNI’s Capital Build Programme had increased the availability of dedicated arts spaces in rural areas of Northern Ireland. I was also aware that the borough of Moyle (of which Cushendun is part) has no such space, and falls into the 1% of areas which are further than twenty miles from a dedicated arts venue.I began to place my experiences of rural youth theatre in dialogue with my practice-based reflections during my Young at Art internship, and my wider knowledge of the youth arts sector. The impetus for this research was a curiosity to explore what is meant by young people developing a sense of ownership of an arts venue, and a desire to gauge whether, and in what ways, the sense of ownership of a physical space can impact on artistic practice. Although the focus is on youth theatre, I am aware that issues discussed in this dissertation may also apply to other art forms in the youth arts field. CHAPTER 1 SETTING THE SCENEIn this chapter, I will explore definitions of the terms ‘youth theatre’ and ‘rural’, proposing my own interpretations of these terms for the purposes of this study. I will provide a brief history of the youth drama sector in Northern Ireland, before addressing the relationship between rural youth theatre and the built arts infrastructure, with reference to ACNI’s Capital Build Programme. I will then explain the genesis of my research question.1.1 Current definitions of youth theatreYouth theatre is a world-wide practice. It is a hybrid art form with roots in applied theatre, community and amateur theatre, Drama in Education, Theatre in Education, professional theatre, youth work and community development (to name a few!). One might also include here: Speech and Drama, musical theatre and celebrity culture. Applied theatre is arguably the newest and most complex of these fields. Helen Nicholson explains how the terms ‘applied theatre’ and ‘applied drama’ gained currency in the 1990s ‘as a kind of shorthand to describe forms of dramatic activity that primarily exist outside conventional mainstream theatre institutions, and which are specifically intended to benefit individuals, communities and societies’. Nicholson notes how some academics have distinguished between the two terms, using ‘applied drama’ to denote a greater emphasis on what Phil Taylor refers to as ‘drama in education strategies to teach about issues, events, relationships’. ‘Applied theatre’, by contrast, is viewed by Taylor as more connected with artistic practice and ‘powered by a strong sense of aesthetic education’. David Grant points to a similar distinction between the uses of ‘community drama’ and ‘community theatre’. However, both Nicholson and Grant themselves seem ambivalent about these categories. In strategy and policy documents from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, little time is spent making theoretical separations between the terms ‘youth drama’ and ‘youth theatre’. That said, ‘youth theatre’ is commonly used to describe a specific group/company of young people who mount productions, as well as referring to the nature of their work. ‘Youth drama’, by contrast, is more commonly used to denote the nature and practice of drama workshops and rehearsals, without reference to their artistic products. Productions in theatre brochures are more often billed as ‘youth theatre’ than as ‘youth drama’, perhaps conveying more of a sense of an art form. It should be emphasised, however, that these distinctions are tenuous. For ease of reference, in this research I will endeavour to use the term ‘youth theatre’ to denote both the art form as a whole and its working process and practices, as well as to refer to a specific company of young people (a youth theatre).A distinguishing feature of the applied theatre field is that it is often concerned with social change. Nicholson notes: ‘Theatre […] has a particular part to play in the collective exploration of ideas, values and feelings – as a space and place in which society might be reshaped through the imagination.’ Cathie McKimm, board member of the Ulster Association of Youth Drama, posits that youth theatre can contribute to such an ‘imaginative re-shaping’ of Northern Irish society. Cathie believes that in the process of exploring their own experiences, and translating these into dramatic expression, young people will be encouraged to challenge the politics of fixed identities:The best youth drama models will be ones that allow young people to involve themselves, to be at the centre of a process where they develop some kind of toolkit to open up their heads and hearts. In doing so, they will learn to ask those questions that are really hard to ask and, even more importantly, to listen to things that may be quite hard to listen to.UAYD’s Corporate Plan 2012-2015 does not offer a fixed definition of youth theatre. In July 2013, UAYD launched a new membership scheme which is open to any individual or group with a stake or interest in youth theatre. This scheme does nonetheless suggest some guidelines for the development of the sector. Discount is provided for not-for-profit groups, and all members are asked to subscribe to five core development principles. The first of these is that: ‘Young people are actively engaged in the creative process […] and feel they have a stake in both the organisation and the work produced.’ Fostering amongst young people a sense of ownership of their artistic activity is thus central to UAYD’s mission.Umbrella organisations for youth theatre in other parts of these islands have more specific definitions of the art form. The Republic of Ireland’s National Association for Youth Drama excludes profit-making organisations from its membership. Its conception of youth theatre is closely associated with the youth work sector. NAYD assert that: ‘Youth Drama is […] a unique youth work practice that engages young people as active participants in theatre by using group or ensemble drama approaches.’ However, NAYD also consider youth theatre as an artistic practice: ‘a unique form of theatre that is defined by the contribution of young people’. This conception of youth theatre as an art form in its own right is also emerging in Scotland. The Scottish umbrella body for the sector, Youth Theatre Arts Scotland (formerly Promote YT), are currently engaged in artistic development projects for ‘ambitious and provocative’ youth theatre of the highest quality.Although UAYD take inspiration from both NAYD and YTAS, UAYD’s current priority is inclusivity of membership so they are eschewing definitions which could be seen as exclusive. I have been privy to discussions around the definition of youth theatre at UAYD’s 2013 Skills Tap conference. There is an on-going debate about how to balance the need for a quality developmental process with the desire to work towards a quality artistic product. Some within the sector question whether productions with very large casts, such as popular musicals, can achieve the outcomes of personal and creative development as effectively as smaller-scale devised projects can. However, in these debates, and in my interviews for this research, a key point of consensus was the need for young people to take ownership of their youth theatre activity, whether this is a musical, a scripted play or a wholly devised piece.For the purposes of this research, I will propose my own interpretation of the term youth theatre. Taking the lead from NAYD, I see youth theatre as a distinct art form and artistic practice, but one which has strong links with personal development and youth work. Indeed, quality youth theatre practice ‘makes an art’ out of personal and social outcomes. Youth theatre as an art form demands that participants feel they have a stake in both process and product. Youth theatre’s inclusive and developmental approach ensures that, as young participants learn about the aesthetics of theatre, they are also engaging in a process of personal and social development, which will ultimately enable them to reflect more deeply on themselves and society, and, as facilitator Carol Doey asserts: ‘to make the life choices that are right for them’. 1.2 Youth theatre in Northern Ireland, 1970s to 2013Northern Ireland has a rich history of amateur drama activity in rural areas. In the brochure for the 1971 Ulster Festival, the ‘Quality of Life’ section declares that: ‘There is hardly a town or village in Ulster that does not have its drama group.’ Whilst this statement could be read as promoting a certain idealistic view of rural communities, David Grant affirms in his 1993 study that: ‘As is clear from the Arts Council's Public Attitudes Survey, amateur drama is immensely strong in Northern Ireland.’ Within the past four years alone, amateur drama festivals have taken place in Lislea, Newry, Portadown, Bangor, Newtonabbey, Enniskillen, Carrickmore, Newtonstewart and Strabane, as well as in Belfast and Derry. Grant explains that the composition of amateur drama groups is largely middle-aged, and ‘there has never been a systematic attempt to build up a youth aspect’ of the movement. Up until the late 1990s, youth theatre in Northern Ireland was largely the preserve of the Arts Council.In the late 1970s, Peter Melchett, NI Education Minister under direct rule, identified community arts as a potential means of addressing the fixed identity politics and social deprivation which he believed were fuelling the Troubles. Melchett gave the Arts Council the following aim: ‘To encourage the artistic efforts of people living in deprived areas, particularly when the artistic activity […] is especially relevant or linked to the lives and experience of local people.’ As part of its response to this brief, the Arts Council set about establishing a province-wide network of youth theatre groups, who would deliver a centrally determined syllabus of drama workshops. By 1978, twelve regional youth theatres were established. These were led by facilitators who came mainly from the amateur drama tradition and they followed a set curriculum determined by the Arts Council. The emphasis in these groups was on ‘process drama’ and they were heavily influenced by the work of theatre educator Dorothy Heathcote. Heathcote promoted the idea of using the process of drama workshops as a means of fostering young people’s personal and social development, and of giving them decision-making skills to help them become more responsible citizens. Although ACNI’s centrally determined curriculum did not last very long, its regional groups continued to offer drama workshops across Northern Ireland for the next twenty years. These groups received a steady drip of funding from the Arts Council. They contributed to festivals such as ‘Connections’ at the Lyric theatre, and NI-wide summer productions, billed as the Ulster Youth Theatre. David Grant speculates that, whilst artistically productive, this centralised approach to delivery ‘may have inhibited the growth of an independent youth theatre sector’.Towards the end of the 1990s, the Arts Council were under pressure to disengage from direct artistic production. After a period of consultation, an independent organisation was launched in May 1998: the Ulster Association of Youth Drama. A full-time administrator was appointed in early 1999. The Arts-Council-run regional groups were abolished, and a strategy was rolled out whereby UAYD would act as a membership support organisation for all youth theatre groups. As a ‘secondary but integral role’, UAYD would also administer an annual youth drama summer scheme based in an urban centre. In its Strategic Plan 2004-2009, UAYD reflected on the long-term impact of its independence from the Arts Council: ‘This independence has been a double-edged sword in that the organisation, on present resources, has been as yet unable to employ an individual who can develop and deliver a long-term coherent artistic strategy.’ This aspiration to one day employ an artistic director was never realised. In 2007 to 2008, UAYD undertook the sectorial research study ‘Mapping Youth Theatre’, which informed the development of their next Strategic Business Plan, 2008-2011. This document marked a shift of UAYD’s activities away from working directly with young people and towards providing services with a strategic benefit such as festivals and skills development schemes. UAYD initiated Drama Fest, a celebration of youth theatre which ran for three consecutive years. However, in 2011, UAYD’s role shifted yet again, due in part to a reduction in funding from the Arts Council. Following further sectorial consultation, a new strategy was developed for 2012-2015, which marks a clear break from artistic production. UAYD now defines itself wholly as a development and support body. Its focus is on building a communications infrastructure for the sector and on providing training and networking opportunities for facilitators. Drama Fest has, for the moment, been shelved.Meanwhile, since the demise of the Arts-Council-run groups, an independent youth drama sector has been slowly building up across the province. The practice of these groups varies widely, and all do not necessarily subscribe to Heathcote’s principles of process drama. Some groups, known colloquially in the sector as ‘Stage Academies’, draw from aspects of current celebrity culture to train young people in specific styles of popular entertainment. Others are more informed by youth work practice, still others by an emphasis on preparation for LAMDA’s Speech and Drama exams. In their recent audit, UAYD attempted a loose categorisation. They found over seventy youth theatre groups across Northern Ireland, which were categorised as follows:Organisations occasionally delivering youth theatreCouncil-run youth theatresEducational-based youth theatresPrivate youth theatres [Not-for-profit] youth theatres1.3 The term ‘rural’ UAYD’s most recent consultation found that: ‘rurally isolated groups are most affected by a lack of opportunities to develop practice and quality standards’. In my practice as a rurally based drama facilitator and a board member of Quadrangle Productions, I have experienced at first hand this sense of isolation, the feeling that, as one of my interviewees expressed it: ‘it’s all happening in Belfast, Derry or Dublin’. The Arts Council’s current draft strategy (2013 to 2018) places strong emphasis on access and participation. Their priority for the drama sector is ‘to drive demand amongst excluded audiences’. Bearing this in mind, now is an apt time to reflect on the challenges facing the rural youth theatre sector. None of the UK’s four Arts Councils provides a definition of the term ‘rural’. The Arts Council of Wales and Creative Scotland employ it in policy documents and in the framing of certain projects. In its recent draft strategy, ACNI proposes to: ‘increase the proportion of arts related activities delivered in rural areas across Northern Ireland’, but it does not elaborate on how these areas are delimited. Rather than setting any arbitrary geographical limits, I will consider ‘rural’ to be what Raymond Williams refers to as a ‘keyword’. Williams postulated that certain words have meanings which are inextricably bound up with the areas and issues they are used to discuss. He argued that terms such as ‘culture’ and ‘society’ cannot be limited to precise dictionary definitions, because these terms express ‘deep conflicts of value and belief’, and their meanings are very dependent on the contexts in which they are used. In my fieldwork, interviewees from sizeable towns such as Cookstown referred to their groups as ‘rural’ when making comparisons with Belfast and Derry. Likewise, interviewees from small villages referred to their situations as ‘rural’ when compared with larger towns. It might even be possible to use the terms ‘regional’ and ‘rural’ interchangeably, to denote any youth theatre activity taking place outside of greater Belfast and Derry. However the term ‘rural’ conveys more of the sense of isolation which UAYD identified as a problem in the sector. I will therefore focus on small towns or villages in the countryside which may suffer from this sense of isolation, bearing in mind the complexities of the term ‘rural’ as a keyword.1.4 ACNI’s Capital Build ProgrammeBetween 1994 and 2008, ACNI distributed over ?70m of capital funding to establish dedicated arts and cultural venues across Northern Ireland. This Capital Build Programme was motivated by a policy drive to ensure that 99 per cent of households in the province had an arts centre within a twenty-mile radius. A total of thirty-nine projects received funding for new buildings, refurbishment or renovation. In Ambitions for the Arts, ACNI boast that their aim has been achieved, and that ‘everyone has access to a dedicated arts facility as a result of Arts Council investment’. In August of this year, ACNI and Deloitte produced an evaluation of the Capital Build Programme focusing on eleven regional venues. This evaluation is entitled Standing Ovation, further evidence that ACNI consider the programme to have been a success. A 2011 DCAL study surveyed the geographical areas which fall inside such a twenty-mile radius. These are indicated in purple on the map below. Green indicates the areas which fall outside of such a catchment radius. Figure1: Areas of Northern Ireland where residents are within a twenty-mile radius of an arts venue 2010-2011 (source: DCAL & ACNI, 2011, Mapping of government funded arts venues, activities and festivals in Northern Ireland 2010/11)It was not within the scope of this research to determine definitively how many of the venues funded through the Capital Build Programme have their own youth theatres. UAYD’s recent audit did not request this information. ACNI’s Standing Ovation focuses primarily on local- authority-run arts venues, so in order to provide a very rough gauge of youth theatre provision in these facilities, I contacted a sample of five out of the eleven venues mentioned in ACNI’s evaluation. These were: the Burnavon (Cookstown), the Alley (Strabane), the Strule (Omagh), the Braid (Ballymena) and the Ardhowen (Enniskillen). None of these five venues have their own in-house youth theatre groups. However, several hire out their space to external youth theatre providers. 1.5 Youth theatre and the built infrastructureIn his 1993 study of community theatre, Grant notes that: ‘Everyone appreciates the substantial investment required for purpose-built facilities, […] but all stress how much more could be done with better access to premises’. Youth theatre as an independent art form does not have a strong tradition of venue ownership. The National Youth Theatre (the largest youth theatre organisation in the UK) has its own rehearsal rooms, but mounts productions as a guest company in a range of professional urban theatres. The Dublin Youth Theatre and Graffiti are the only youth theatres which I could find in the Republic who possess their own working venues. In Belfast, Youth Action’s Rainbow Factory have a performance venue. These notable exceptions aside, there are two common ways in which youth theatres access space for workshops, rehearsal and performance: they are linked with a professional theatre venue, and thus can access that venue’s space free of charge;the youth theatres are wholly independent groups and rent premises on a more or less ad-hoc basis.The first of these methods does not appear to be very prevalent in Northern Ireland. In Belfast, the Grand Opera House has its own youth theatre, but the Youth Lyric theatre group is completely independent from the Lyric Theatre. Derry’s Millennium Forum runs a summer youth drama project but does not facilitate a year-round group. My preliminary analysis of UAYD’s audit indicates that few other venues have their own groups. Therefore, it would seem that the majority of Northern Ireland’s youth theatre activity takes place in hired facilities.In January of this year, the Arts Council issued a ‘Draft Youth Arts Strategy’ for consultation. One of the proposed actions in this document is to: ‘encourage local councils and arts venues to provide young people with regular use of rehearsal space and opportunities to showcase their work’. This recommendation suggests that ACNI have identified access to facilities as a key area of need within the youth arts sector.However, a sense of ownership is about much more than whether or not a group has legal ownership of a property.1.6 A sense of ownership of building, process and product?The discourse of ‘ownership’ occurs frequently in policy documents and strategies. One of YTAS’s key principles is that ‘young people are engaged as active participants in the creative process’. NAYD asserts that youth theatre ‘has its own identity forged by members’ and UAYD has the core principle of ensuring that young people feel they have ‘stake in both the organisation and the work produced.’ Drawing on my work on the Shankill Project and my involvement with UAYD and Quadrangle, I began questioning what is encompassed in this idea of ‘owning’ or ‘having a stake’ in an activity. Does it refer solely to the creative process, or could it also have implications for the spaces in which this process takes place? My research question is as follows: ‘What are the implications of the built arts infrastructure for the development of youth theatre in rural areas of Northern Ireland?’ From this ‘top-line question’, I developed five areas of enquiry: 1. What are the limitations and barriers faced by youth theatre participants and practitioners in rural areas?2. In what ways do these issues relate to access to physical space, facilities and the built arts infrastructure?3. Is there a link between youth theatre participation and theatre attendance in rural arts venues?4. In what ways are venue managers and facilitators attempting to foster a sense of ownership of rural arts venues amongst youth theatre members?5. Outline some key recommendations for the advancement of the sector in terms of developing ‘space to play’ in rural areas.In the following chapter, I will outline the methodology for my research into this question of ‘space to play’. CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 Research in this field to dateTo date, there have been few published academic studies focusing specifically on youth theatre in Northern Ireland. The level of sectorial research in the field is also low. Since their inception in 1998, UAYD has commissioned several small-scale audits and consultations, but a shortage of staff and resources has restricted their scope. UAYD currently has just one full-time staff member, undertaking both a developmental and administrative role. By contrast, YTAS and NAYD (currently operating on a respective full-time staffing quota of six and three) routinely commission national-level research. However, this research in ROI and Scotland tends to be of a strategic and corporate nature, designed to be of immediate operational use within the youth theatre sector. There is little engagement with academic theory. In embarking on this very small-scale project, I felt that some engagement with theory would provide a necessary grounding to my fieldwork practice. I have drawn from the fields of applied theatre and community arts.2.2 Theoretical influencesFrancois Matarasso is a researcher and consultant in socially engaged arts practice who produced a strategy for community arts in Belfast in 1995. Matarasso argues that it is unrealistic for the arts sector to aim for complete scientific objectivity in its research into social outcomes. He suggests allowing space for a variety of subjective perspectives, in order to ‘create a composite picture which is, if not the truth, at least a reliable basis for further action’. Although Matarasso was in this case addressing the issue of how to evaluate the social impact of arts programmes, his concept of a ‘composite picture’ also has implications for the field of ethnographic research in the arts. The questions of how to measure the social outcomes of an arts programme and how to map the sectorial needs of an art form are linked because in both cases the evaluator or researcher will be dealing with people, and their often divergent and subjective perspectives on a topic. I will use Matarasso’s concept of a ‘composite picture’ in approaching my fieldwork. My data will be mostly of a qualitative nature as it will derive from semi-structured interviews. I will endeavour to generate a limited amount of quantitative data by means of drama games in my youth theatre consultation workshops (see Appendix p.16 and p.25). However, the idea of a ‘composite picture’ implies something deeper than simply a mix of quantitative and qualitative evidence. It also invites an exploration into issues of validity and reliability in research.Dr Simone Krüger defines validity as ‘the accuracy of findings and the degree to which research actually measures what it proposed to measure’, and reliability as being ‘concerned with whether the results of a study can be duplicated or replicated’. Krüger’s student guide into ethnography in the performing arts cites the process of triangulation as a means by which some ethnographers ‘seek to increase the scientific rigour’ and credibility of their research. Triangulation, Krüger writes, is a process ‘by which multiple sources of data serve as confirmation or corroboration for each other’. However, sociologist Laurel Richardson refutes the idea that having three (or more) different sources confirming a point must necessarily imply that a researcher has achieved ‘truth’. Richardson writes: ‘in postmodernist mixed-genre texts, we do not triangulate; we crystallize. We recognise that there are far more than “three sides” from which to approach the world.’In his 2003 study, Taylor posits that Richardson’s concept of crystallization is an art in itself, and one which has relevance to ethnographic research in theatre. He asserts that ‘crystal’ serves as a good metaphor, because ‘it contains a variety of different shapes and patterns and both refracts and reflects’. For Taylor, an ‘especially eloquent’ aspect of the art of crystallization is that it continually ‘opens us up to new possibilities of seeing, and new ways of knowing’. In my small sample of field research, and with little prior experience of ethnography, I shall certainly not presume to any grand ‘truths’ or ‘revelations’ about youth theatre. What I hope to do is to give a platform to a variety of perspectives from within the sector, allow them to enter into dialogue with one and other, and in doing so, generate some insights which may point towards ‘new ways of knowing’. My process will involve ‘crystallization’ in so far as I hope to point towards some potential new areas of research. However, I do not wish to get carried away in a vista of crystals so far as to lose sight of the project in hand. In this study I am concerned with the precise question of the built infrastructure. As such, I hope to achieve some corroboration – or ‘truth’ – not about the entire NI sector, but about the specific localities and contexts in which I have conducted my research. It may be that these small nuggets of localised insight have wider implications for the field; but this would be matter for a wider piece of research. With the concept of crystallization in mind, I will organise my sample into categories, and will seek two sources for each category. I hope that this will allow for a dialogue between interviewees’ voices, whilst recognising that perspective is subjective and depends on particular contexts and viewpoints. I will aim for objectivity in my analysis. However, I will remain conscious that certain aspects of this sample will inevitably be refracted through my experience-based position as a practitioner in the field. 2.3 Delimitation of sample: the bell-wether modelIn approaching my fieldwork, I wished to find an appropriate method of determining my sample, to avoid a ‘scattergun’ approach. The OED defines a bell-wether as ‘the leading sheep of a flock, on whose neck a bell is hung’. It cites a second figurative sense of the term as referring to a ‘chief or leader’. I do not wish to suggest that some youth theatre practitioners are ‘ahead of the pack’ in any competitive sense. As Ben Cameron asserted in his keynote address at the All-Ireland Arts Conference 2012, the concept of raw competition between arts providers is not helpful to the sector, particularly in this climate of reduced arts funding. Cameron posits instead that ‘co-opetition’ is key:We must discover the power of bypassing competition in favour of co-opetition, as Yale author Barry Nailbuff urges — arguing that we can continue to compete for a piece of a fixed or shrinking pie, or co-opetate to grow the pie for us all, even as we continue to inevitably compete for a piece of it.It is in this spirit of ‘co-opetition’, therefore, that I see good leadership as necessary to influence, motivate and effect change. Cameron posits that we are currently in the midst of a cultural reformation. Academic Sue Kay concurs with Cameron, suggesting that this current era of ‘fundamental cultural transformation’ involves a ‘shift from the provision of culture to the participation in and making of culture’. Kay suggests that leadership in the arts and cultural sector may no longer simply involve ‘stewardship of practices’, but may also now encompass the role of influencing and advocating for the nature of the practices themselves. In the light of these comments, I will interpret the concept of ‘the bell-wether’ as referring to individuals within the youth theatre sector who appear to be advancing the field in terms of art form development, innovative practice and advocacy. I use the term ‘leaders’ to refer not only to those involved in governance, but also to progressive practitioners including youth theatre facilitators, venue administrators, and, importantly, young theatre artists. 2.4 Categorisation of sampleMy sample will be organised into five categories, aiming to reflect a representative, though by no means exhaustive, variety of perspectives on youth theatre.2.41 Youth theatre membersUAYD’s youth membership strand is open to young people under the age of eighteen. Its strand of youth theatre membership is open to groups and organisations providing activities for eleven to twenty-five year-olds. Neither NAYD nor YTAS offer a youth membership category. NAYD specifies the age range of twelve to twenty-five for groups, and YTAS does not specify any age restrictions. Many youth theatres have both junior and senior membership, with junior membership being open to children. Young at Art defines ‘children’ as ages nought to ten, and ‘young people’ as ages eleven to eighteen. Given Young at Art’s fifteen-year history of youth arts practice in Belfast, and its current position as a ‘bell-wether’ in the NI sector, I will align myself with their delimitation of this field. I will interpret ‘young people’ as referring to ages eleven to eighteen. Within this age range, individuals are more likely to engage in activities of their own volition, rather than in accordance with their parents’ wishes. However, they are not legally adults, and are less likely to be financially independent or have access to their own means of transport (although some privileged seventeen-year-olds do have cars!).I will engage with two youth theatre groups, endeavouring to work with an equal or near-equal number of participants from each. These will be groups operating in rural areas, as defined in Chapter 1 as areas in the countryside which may suffer from a sense of isolation. 2.42 Venue managersI will interview managers of two arts venues in small towns or villages which have their own in-house youth theatres. As ACNI’s Standing Ovation focuses on local authority venues, I will endeavour to provide a small counterpoint by focusing on independent community-run facilities. By this I am referring to dedicated arts venues which have been established by residents of a particular locality either through the efforts of dedicated (‘bell-wether’) individuals or through a popular campaign – or, as is often the case, through a combination of both.I will also include the Riverside Theatre as a third party in this category. The Riverside is not strictly rural: it is situated on the outskirts of the large town of Coleraine. However, it occupies a unique position as NI’s only university-run theatre with its own in-house youth theatre group. Furthermore, the Riverside Youth Theatre draws a sizeable 20 per cent of its membership from small towns and villages. It may therefore provide interesting points of comparison with the other two venues.2.43 Youth theatre facilitatorsI will interview two youth theatre facilitators currently running their own groups in small towns or villages. I will endeavour to include the perspective of a practitioner who hires workshop and performance space from a community venue, and the perspective of a practitioner who is attached to a dedicated arts space. 2.44 Young artists from rural backgrounds Although UAYD’s youth membership stops at age eighteen, its youth theatre membership is open to groups working with young people up to age twenty-five. However, this is not my prime motive for including a category entitled ‘young artists’. Whilst I will confine this category to individuals aged eighteen to twenty-five, I do not propose to interview current youth theatre group participants in this age bracket. Instead, I wish to explore the progression from youth theatre activity to third-level drama study and/or careers in the professional theatre sector. I will focus on individuals who grew up in small towns or villages and who are currently studying drama or working in theatre. 2.45 Representatives from funding and umbrella bodiesThe inclusion of perspectives from the Arts Council and UAYD is essential to this research. The Arts Council is shortly to issue NI’s first ever ‘Youth Arts Strategy’, and UAYD is the network and support body for the youth theatre sector. 2.5 Research methodology2.51 Consultation drama workshopsIn engaging with youth theatre members, I will employ the method of consultation drama workshops. This is a useful and fun way of capturing the opinions of a group without the use of evaluation forms. See Appendix p.1 and p.21 for details of these games. As the games rely on physical responses to ‘yes/no’ statements, I will use the results to generate a small amount of quantitative evidence. I will also record participants’ comments during the game. This method requires two facilitators: one to lead the game, and the other to document. I will lead the game and will ask the group’s own facilitator to document the young people’s responses. 2.52 Semi-structured interviewsI will conduct semi-structured interviews with all the individuals in my sample. Educational researcher Nigel Newton explains:A useful concept in describing types of interview is the continuum; any particular interview can be placed somewhere between ‘unstructured’ and ‘structured’. The ‘unstructured’ pole is closer to observation while the ‘structured’ use of ‘closed’ questions is similar to types of questionnaire.I will place my interviews near the middle of this continuum, though closer to the ‘unstructured’ pole. Closed questions may inhibit the generation of insights into what is an under-researched field. However, I do not propose to have a social conversation with interviewees. I will prepare five to six areas of interest in advance of each interview (see Appendix p. 15), but will allow each interviewee space to air their views on other areas which they feel may be relevant to my research question. As Taylor refers to the ‘art’ of crystallization, so might one refer to the ‘art’ of a semi-structured interview: this will not be an exact science. CHAPTER 3 RESULTS OF FIELDWORKIn this chapter I will outline specific circumstances which may have affected or influenced my data. I will then provide an overview of principal themes in order to give a sense of the entire body of data. See Appendix pp. 10-14 for an example of my data analysis. I analysed the data as soon as possible after each meeting, which meant that, as the fieldwork progressed, I was able to draw on material from previous interviews and to track emerging themes. Whilst endeavouring scrupulously not to influence the opinions of subsequent interviewees, I did address particular themes if they had emerged strongly from previous interviews.3.1 Consultation workshops with young peopleSummer youth theatre generally consists of time-bound ‘schemes’, as most permanent groups operate from September to May/June. However, I wished to engage with as many young people as possible who were part of a year-round group, in order to generate more considered responses which came from a place of experience. I consulted with two youth theatre summer schemes which were attached to particular venues, and which included many members of each venue’s permanent group.My first engagement was with Showstoppers musical theatre group, who meet in the Bardic Theatre in the village of Donaghmore. I led a workshop with twenty-seven young people aged five to seventeen, with only five of the young people being under age the age of eleven.Around 70 per cent of this group also attended the year-round Showstoppers classes. Showstoppers have been meeting in the Bardic since 2009, when the group was established by its current leader Stephanie Faloon, herself a Donaghmore native. Showstoppers hire the space from the Bardic, but, interestingly, Stephanie asserts that they are ‘very much known/seen as the "Bardic youth/upcoming talent" by both the general public and the Bardic committee’.The year-round Showstoppers group currently comprises ninety members with a waiting list of thirty. They produce musicals which run for two to three nights in the Bardic, playing to consistently full houses. As I facilitated the consultation myself, I was able to gauge areas of potential relevance to my research question and to probe further where possible. A significant misunderstanding came about during the ‘Walking Debate’ game, which was to prove a fruitful source of insight into the young people’s relationship with the venue. When I made the statement: ‘Love meeting in the Bardic/ Would prefer to meet somewhere else’, all the participants immediately flocked to the ‘Love meeting in the Bardic’ side of the room. Through discussion, it became apparent that they conflated ‘meeting in the Bardic’ with ‘being a member of Showstoppers’ in their minds. Participants justified their choice of side by citing all the benefits of being in Showstoppers, including: ‘it is like a family unit’. I decided to probe this apparent conflation of group and venue further by asking whether Showstoppers would still be the same if the group met in another venue. The consensus was that ‘it had to be in the Bardic’. In our concluding discussion, several senior participants demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of the Bardic’s theatre space, citing specific inadequacies such as an unreliable mic system, and making recommendations for improvement rather than wishing for a new venue. The young participants are probably not aware of their group’s status as tenant, and for them, the Bardic is a ‘home venue’ because the group has always rehearsed and performed there.Due to a cancellation of my original second youth theatre workshop, Carol Doey from the Hub Youth Theatre agreed to lead the consultation with her group. It would have been preferable to facilitate myself, but given that the group were preparing for a production, I did not want to disrupt their rehearsals with a new face. This meant that I was unable to gauge how participants interpreted my questions.The Hub has been active as a venue only since March 2013 and its youth theatre began meeting in April 2013, so members do not have a long history of involvement with the space. However, several members have a long-standing relationship with Carol as facilitator/director. Furthermore, many participants in the summer scheme were due to join the Hub’s year-round youth theatre in September. Carol conducted the consultation with the secondary school group (ages eleven to eighteen), of whom there were twenty-eight, a sample which tallies well with the twenty-seven participants in Showstoppers.From the results, it was apparent that participants had interpreted the statement ‘Love meeting in [current venue] / Would prefer to meet somewhere else’ differently from the young people in the Bardic. The Hub young people understood this statement as referring to whether or not the Hub was their preferred social space to meet, rather than their preferred space in which to do youth theatre. Thus, out of the 50 per cent who answered that they would prefer to meet somewhere else, participants cited ‘the cinema’, ‘the disco’ and ‘in town’ as preferable social meeting spots. This difference of interpretation nonetheless points to a similar association of youth theatre activity with the existing arts venue. ‘The cinema’ or ‘down the town’ are not places in which the young people meet to make theatre, so it seems as if, like the Showstoppers group, the only place in which the Hub group can conceive of doing youth theatre is in their existing space. However, in contrast to Showstoppers, the Hub participants did not spend much time praising their own group. This may be due to the fact that the group, and the venue, are so new: it takes time to build up a ‘family ethos’ such as is established within Showstoppers.Due to several other inconsistencies of interpretation, I was able to include only half the data in the comparative charts below. It is worth bearing in mind that the Hub does not yet receive touring performances, whereas the Bardic has been an active venue for over twenty-five years. This may explain why fewer young people have visited the Hub for purposes other than youth theatre attendance. Donaghmore is a village of approximately 2,600 people whereas Cookstown is a town with a population of over 12,000. This could explain why the young people from the Bardic are almost entirely reliant on lifts from family members in order to attend. -2476502238375% of group 00% of group Figure 2: Results of ‘Anyone Who’ game-5251452105025% of group 00% of group Figure 3: Results of ‘Walking Debate’ game3.2 InterviewsInterviewees were asked at the beginning of each session how much time they could spare, and I ensured that interviews remained strictly within this time frame.3.21 Sample of intervieweesCategory of intervieweeDate of interviewDuration Venue managersJeremy Lewis (theatre manager, the Riverside, Coleraine)Brian Duffin, Mickey Carolan and Laragh Cullen (venue managers, founders & former staff member, Craic Theatre and Arts Centre, Coalisland)Carol Doey (the Hub Bt80, Cookstown)26 July 201318 July 20131 August 20131 hr1 hr + venue tour40 mins + venue tourYouth theatre facilitatorsCaroline McAfee (Quadrangle Productions, Ballycastle)Carol Doey (the Hub Bt80, Cookstown)Joanna O’Neill (Glens Young Farmers Club, Carey)31 July 2013(see above)3 August 201335 mins20 mins (via telephone)Young artists from rural backgroundsSeamus O’Hara (professional actor from Cushendun, aged 24)Chris Grant (professional actor from Annaclone, aged 24)Lee McLaughlin (amateur actor from Ballycastle and senior member of Quadrangle productions, aged 19)14 July 20132 August 201330 July 201330 mins2 hrs55 minsRepresentatives from funding and umbrella bodiesGavin O’Connor, ACNI Arts Development Officer for Youth ArtsCathie McKimm, (now former) Development Officer, Ulster Association of Youth Drama2 August 201316 July 201345 mins50 mins3.3 Limitations of interview researchSome features of the above sample may have affected the data produced.It is apparent that all the interviews are with individuals, except the session with the Craic managers. This is not because I deliberately avoided group interviews; it most cases, it was simply easier to make arrangements with one person. However, in the case of Craic, I was encouraged to meet with a group. This may reflect the ‘collective venue management’ system which is in operation at Craic (see Appendix p. 5). The inclusion of a group interview means that my data reflects several perspectives on Craic whereas in all other cases there is just one viewpoint. Although I tried to adhere to the framework of two sources per category, I was conscious that the organic process of fieldwork might throw up additional material. This was indeed the case: on a night when my consultation workshop with Quadrangle had been cancelled, Quadrangle member Lee volunteered himself as an interviewee. Joanna O’ Neill was added to the facilitators’ category as I felt that some perspective from a YFC representative was needed. Carol Doey features in two categories because she is both a facilitator and a venue manager.Indeed, Carol was not unique in transcending categorisation. Although I tried to approach my interviewees according to their given role – ‘as facilitators’ or ‘as umbrella body representatives’ – in practice, interviewees brought all their youth theatre (and indeed life) experience to bear in addressing my research question. What became evident is that people’s knowledge and lived experiences often do not fit neatly into given job titles, and, particularly in the creative arts, people perform several roles at once, including those for which an official title has not yet been invented! Finally, the ‘young rural artists’ are all male. In this fieldwork and in my sectorial experience, it appears as if males are in the minority gender in youth theatre. YTAS’s most recent review confirms that this certainly is the case in Scotland. All of the young artists addressed this issue of gender imbalance directly or indirectly. 3.4 Topics coveredInterviews were recorded and recordings were transcribed (see Appendix p.10 for example). Listed below are the topics of conversation/themes which occurred most frequently.3.41 Prioritisation of people or spaceIn eight out of the ten interviews, I asked whether having a suitable space is more or less important than having the right facilitator or a dynamic group of participants. This issue of prioritising ‘people or space’ was touched upon directly or indirectly in all interviews. In hindsight this may have been too direct an approach to engaging with these issues. There is not necessarily an ‘either/ or’ answer to this question. However, it did elicit some interesting discussion material which I will address in Chapter 4. 3.42 Arts communities and sporting communitiesThe theme of connections between the arts and sports communities emerged in my interview with Seamus, who asked: ‘What fifteen-year old boy in Cushendun is going to put down his hurling stick and think: “no, I’m going to do drama?”’ As a result of this, in seven of the nine subsequent interviews, I included a question on the value of linking arts and sports. This theme is only tangentially related to my research question (through issues around shared leisure facilities). However, I feel that this is an under-researched area in the arts sector, and one about which many practitioners have significant insights, so I wanted to ‘test the water’ for future research. 3.43 Review of Public AdministrationIn the case of venue managers and umbrella body representatives, I included a question on the projected effects of the Review of Public Administration. This is the official title for the imminent process of the reduction of the twenty-six NI borough councils into eleven ‘super-councils’, the projected completion date of which is in 2015. I wanted to gauge whether interviewees felt that these changes would have any impact on their practice. In the fieldwork results, the issue of the RPA appears as a large question mark hovering over the near future: no interviewee gave a definitive statement as to what effect they believe it will have on the youth theatre sector, but tentative speculations were generally negative. Potential issues cited included the fear of arts venues in amalgamated boroughs competing for funding, and the fear of local councillors favouring their own local areas.3.44 Links between youth theatre participation and theatre attendanceI asked venue managers whether they see a link between youth theatre participation and theatre attendance. Facilitators and young artists were asked whether they think theatre attendance is important for participants involved in youth theatre. I included these questions because the ‘built arts infrastructure’ encompasses spaces to attend theatre as well as to rehearse and perform. I wanted to capture opinions on whether or not theatre attendance is relevant to the development of youth theatre as an art form.3.45 Venues embedded in the communityDiscussions with venue managers from Craic and the Hub involved considerable description of how these venues came into being: the community campaigns, the intense periods of renovation work by volunteers etc. Managers talked at length about the importance of their venues being embedded in the wider local community. Jeremy Lewis at the Riverside also spoke of the importance of his theatre being relevant to and well-used by people in its local catchment area. The Riverside’s special situation as a university-owned venue became apparent, including the fact that the theatre is not on the same campus as the drama degree course so is seldom used by students, and the fact that the Riverside Youth Theatre can access large rehearsal spaces in adjoining university buildings. All interviewees seemed to see wider community support for venues and groups as a crucial factor in the development of youth drama. 3.46 A sense of ownershipI introduced this idea in all interviews, but then tried to allow interviewees to interpret it for themselves. When asked for clarification I explained the concept as ‘feeling as if the venue is home’ or ‘feeling at home in the venue’. 3.47 Technical theatreI asked venue managers, facilitators and young artists whether they provide, or had themselves received, training in technical theatre. Technical equipment is arguably the most financially costly aspect of theatre practice, and I wished to gauge whether or not practitioners in rural areas face barriers in terms of accessing this equipment and the necessary training to use it. 3.48 Benefits of youth theatre and need for their promotionAll interviewees placed strong emphasis on the benefits of involvement in youth theatre in terms of young people’s personal, social, creative and professional development. Another common theme was the need for improved articulation and promotion of these benefits at a public level. Seamus, Joanna and Lee spoke of a knowledge gap in the Glens about what quality youth theatre actually involves, and alluded to a local sporting bias. Cathie described the need for a making a better case for the arts in lobbying activities. Craic managers acknowledged their reluctance to self-promote or ‘trumpet’ their activities, but seemed confident in the level of understanding of and support for youth theatre within their local community. 3.49 Capital Build ProgrammeOnly one interviewee, Jeremy Lewis, alluded directly to the Capital Build Programme, and he did so in critical terms, remarking that ‘everybody’s got a venue now, but no money to run it with’. Jeremy believes that government funding for the arts is ‘as important as government funding of the NHS’, but implies that the Arts Council may have got their priorities wrong in focusing on the built infrastructure at the expense of subsidy for art forms themselves. 3.50 Importance of quality facilitationThe importance of confident, responsive and creative youth drama facilitation was the most prevalent theme. The facilitator’s role as an inspirational figure for young people was cited frequently. Carol Doey spoke of her desire for external drama facilitators to visit the Hub leaders and inspire them with a new burst of creativity. Cathie depicted one of UAYD’s roles as being to provide spaces for facilitator networking: ‘put people together in a room, things happen naturally, […] one idea sparks off another…’ Several interviewees referred to the absence of accredited drama facilitation courses in Northern Ireland. So perhaps the issue of ‘space to play’ is relevant to facilitator training as well as to youth groups? In the next chapter, I will analyse key themes from my data, placing them in dialogue with my theoretical and sectorial reading in order to shape insights into my research question.CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF KEY THEMES FROM FIELDWORKChapter 1 identified five questions which formed my line of inquiry. This chapter will address these questions through the investigation of key themes which have arisen from my fieldwork. My original data will be placed in dialogue with Arts Council policies. I will also draw on the spatial theories of Henri Lefebvre and the application of his materialist spatial theory in Michael McKinnie’s study City Stages, which focuses on theatre and the economy of urban space in Toronto. In doing so, I aim to provide a materialist analysis of the current use of some independent rural venues for youth theatre in Northern Ireland, demonstrating the links between the practice of specific groups and venues and the wider social, cultural, economic and political environments in which they operate. Whilst my analysis will address my five initial questions, it will not be restricted to a narrow ‘answering’ of these questions; I will allow the data to open up new lines of enquiry. A word on playAs ‘rural’ was identified in Chapter 1 as a key word, so ‘play’ also qualifies as a term which eludes exact dictionary definition. The word has nineteen entries in the OED. The fifth of these may offer a shard of insight into the research question. It defines play as: ‘free action; freedom, opportunity, or room for action; scope for activity’. The current emphasis in play research appears to be on child-led or child-initiated play. This would seem to correlate with the concept of a sense of ownership: a child should have a sense of ownership of play activity, just as young people should feel a sense of ownership of youth theatre. In terms of NI government policy the emphasis is on physical space and facilities, with little room accorded to arts-based play. 4.1 Limitations of infrastructure in rural areasWhen asked what he considers to be the highest priority in terms of theatre infrastructure in his native Cushendun, Seamus O’Hara was quick to answer: ‘A safe environment would be a good start’. Cushendun is a village of less than 1,000 people. At present, the area’s only stage is housed in the local parochial hall and is rarely used due to health and safety concerns. The hall has no lighting rig or sound facilities; but of greater concern is the fact that the backstage space, and some areas of the stage itself, are out of bounds due to unsafe floorboards. Cushendun parochial hall is typical of certain small parish venues in rural areas which suffer from chronic neglect. A key criterion of any potential space for youth theatre is that it should be, literally, safe. Youth theatre workshops typically involve participants moving around the space at various speeds and levels. Activities include mime, fast-paced improvisations or dance, all of which require a clean floor space free from hazards. However, in some rural venues, safety cannot be taken for granted. Caroline McAfee asserts that the hall in which she leads her group would pass a ‘very basic safety test’, but then proceeds to describe how the roof leaked last winter, meaning that users had to avoid a certain area of the room. Of course, the law requires youth groups to undertake a risk assessment of a space prior to using it, but when there are very few suitable spaces and poor venue management, meeting the legal requirements for health and safety can be a constant challenge. Second to basic safety is the requirement that a space be comfortable. Caroline and Quadrangle member Lee describe how the McAlister Hall in the small town of Ballycastle is ‘always freezing’ in winter. Quadrangle have repeatedly asked for improved heating of the space, but this problem has yet to be resolved. Caroline believes that this neglect is due to an absence of centralised management of the venue. The McAlister Hall is administered by the busy parish priest, who has recourse to parish committees if necessary. However, there is no committee directly responsible for the hall, no-one undertakes the role of caretaker, and the only medium through which the various user groups can interact is via the sign-in book. Even when a venue management committee is in place, as in the case of Annaclone Rural Regeneration Committee, which manages Annaclone village parish hall, there is no guarantee that that committee will be sympathetic towards youth theatre. Annaclone native Chris Grant recounts his experience of being the only young person on the committee: ‘I realised I was there to tick a box, not to give an opinion’. Chris’s proposal to set up a youth theatre in Annaclone repeatedly got lost in the slow three-hour traffic of meetings, to the point at which he gave up the proposal and resigned from the committee.The issue of how to manage shared community spaces is pertinent to the development of all groups who use such spaces. When that space is a parish hall, the composition of the management committee will determine how the space is used, and parish committees (deservedly or not) have a reputation for conservatism and a lack of youth representation. Furthermore, the hall’s connection to a certain religious tradition may affect the provenance of its users. The managers of Craic Arts Centre describe the audience behaviour of the Coalisland Protestant community, who are in a minority: ‘99.9 per cent of them would have never gone to anything in the [Catholic] Parochial Centre. But when we opened Craic, they started coming in in significant numbers.’ The issue of shared spaces in the context of post-Agreement community relations is already the subject of a considerable body of research. I wish to draw attention to the difficulties inherent in the practice of user groups sharing community venues whether or not any sectarian tensions are in play. The Hub was founded with the development of youth theatre its main objective, but, already, manager Carol Doey finds it a challenge to balance youth theatre classes with the other, numerous demands for the venue space. The Hub has responded to local need by casting itself in the role of enabler of social capital in these times of recession: it houses sewing machine classes, jumble sales, and workshops in furniture renovation. Whilst she welcomes these additional uses of the Hub, Carol is already hoping to secure another space which will be used for youth theatre alone: ‘In there, it will be our space. Totally for drama. It’ll be lovely.’ Caroline McAfee relates a similar story of the limitations which are placed on Quadrangle by the fact of their sharing the McAlister Hall with many other groups. In this case, the groups are all external tenants of the hall so there is less opportunity for negotiation than in the Hub, where the youth theatre remains the ‘home group’. Caroline tells of some ‘past history’ between users of the hall. What would have been the green room is currently employed as storage space for other groups. This summer Quadrangle could not use the stage at all because the playgroup had requisitioned it to store large plastic play-houses.The contradictions inherent in this image of a stage being used as storage space for play equipment provide an apt point at which to introduce some spatial theory. Henri Lefebvre outlines three modes in which humans interact with, and thus produce space. Perceived space describes how we see space on a superficial level, as we move through it in our daily trajectories and routines (for example: negotiating our way through city spaces on a commute to work). Conceived space refers to the way in which space is used to produce a certain social order. Also known as ‘representations of space’, this is the mode through which the state designs civic buildings in order to represent a certain social hegemony. For example, the facades of state buildings proclaim certain messages. The third mode is ‘lived space’. This is the space of ‘inhabitants’, and it denotes the way in which the human imagination charges physical spaces with its own symbolic significance, by means of ‘a more or less coherent system of non-verbal symbols and signs’, to create ‘representational spaces’. Thus, a simple bus stop may be infused with emotional significance for a particular couple, because that is where they first kissed. According to Lefebvre, culture and art operate generally, though not exclusively, via these lived spaces. In City Stages, McKinnie uses Lefebvre’s theories to explore the spatial economy of theatres and theatre companies in Toronto. He relates the anecdote of how the director of Toronto Workshop Productions sacked one of his actors for walking across the stage outside of a production or rehearsal context. McKinnie explains that the actor had failed to recognise the separate, quasi-sacred position that the stage occupied in the company’s ‘lived space’: ‘For Toronto Workshop Productions, theatre space was not a physical space that could or should be used like any outside the walls of the theatre.’ It will be obvious by now how far removed the McAlister Hall is from this code of a ‘sacred stage’. Quadrangle, the only drama group to use the venue, were not able to utilise a space which wider society associates primarily with drama, because another user group saw that space simply as additional storage room. In this case, the ‘lived space’ of the McAlister Hall was so markedly different for two user groups that it impeded the artistic practice of one of these groups. This image may also be read as a metaphor for the way in which the NI government policy favours a view of play which is bound up with physical space rather than with creative or imaginative processes. Indeed, Gavin O’Connor (speaking in a personal capacity) laments the fact that OFMDFM’s Play and Leisure Policy (2009) was ‘very much about physical space’. This document focuses on parks and playgrounds, to the detriment of arts-led interventions through play. Youth theatre does not feature at all.4.2 The thrill of a professional stageSeveral of my interviewees referred to the thrill of performing on a large urban stage. ACNI’s evaluation of their Capital Build Programme declares that the programme has been of particular benefit to young people’s self-esteem as it has given them opportunities to participate in ‘professionally run art productions using modern equipment and high quality facilities’. It is undeniable that the experience of performing on a purpose-built theatre stage represents an important milestone in a young person’s experience of youth theatre. Lee relates: ‘Rehearsing in a theatre was like a dream-come-true. You were able to do so much.’ Many rural venues have serious limitations when compared with urban theatres. No-where is this more evident than in the case of technical facilities and expertise. Most parish halls do not have lighting rigs or PA systems. The Hub has a small lighting rig, but Carol says she is not confident that any of their facilitators, or indeed any of the Burnavon staff, would have the expertise to train young people in its use. Caroline and Lee believe that the acquisition of Quadrangle’s own lighting equipment would represent a ‘step up’, both in the quality of their productions and in the breadth of the theatre training which they can offer. However, in Ballycastle as in Cookstown, there is a lack of trained technicians able to pass on their skills to young people. Young people like Lee, who hopes to build a career in theatre but comes from an area where there is no arts centre, are forced to travel to access better facilities. For young people without a driving licence, this means either spending money on public transport, or enlisting family members to provide lifts. Lee describes how he spent a total of ?110 travelling between Ballycastle and the Riverside theatre during a ten-day course. This amount was greater than the cost of course itself. UAYD used to administer training bursaries for young people through the Kenneth Branagh Renaissance Award and Ken-Friends Bursary schemes, but these were discontinued in 2011. 4.3 Dedicated rural arts venuesIt would be a mistake to assume that the experience of performing on a large urban stage is the desirable ‘end goal’ of all youth theatre practice. In 2011, Quadrangle mounted a production on the Riverside stage, but this experience made the group realise that, whilst it was exciting to perform on a ‘proper stage’, they saw their mission as ‘bringing drama to Ballycastle audiences’. All the young artists whom I interviewed demonstrated a desire to improve youth theatre provision in their native towns and villages. When this sense of local pride and attachment to place is coupled with a dynamic facilitator or theatre group, then visions of a dedicated arts facility can start to take shape.4.31Dynamic groups and leadersAll independent community arts venues are born out of shared visions. Brian Duffin describes how, as the Coalisland Players were re-forming and engaging with young people, ‘all the time we had this dream that we could get a place of our own’. When Carol Doey was on the point of giving up her practice as theatre facilitator, support from Open Door Theatre Company led her to think: ‘No, we can’t quit. We have to find somewhere to rehearse.’ Caroline, Lee and Seamus all harbour dreams of dedicated arts spaces in their home areas of Ballycastle and Cushendun. In Standing Ovation, ACNI assert that the Capital Build Programme has provided areas which previously had poor access to the arts with ‘modern, fit-for-purpose facilities’ in which the arts and culture can flourish. They boast that the new regional venues are ‘champions for the arts’, which have helped to ‘illustrate the reach of the arts beyond Belfast’. According to Standing Ovation, the network of regional arts venues can act as promoters and advocates for the arts across NI society. This language ties in with Ambitions for the Arts, ACNI’s recent draft five-year strategy in which one of the aims is to ‘champion the arts’. McKinnie describes how a building can act as a ‘physical metaphor’ for the viability of the activity which it houses. In discussing his dream of an arts centre in Cushendun, Seamus touches on this concept that a purpose-built arts venue can help assert the viability of the arts themselves. He believes that having a dedicated facility would raise the profile of the arts in Cushendun by giving them a shared physical embodiment:Somewhere you could go to, that would give people the chance to be exposed to drama in not such a ‘thrown-together’ way. […]It’s about bringing people together, and giving them a space where it’s like: ‘This is where we do this’. It’s not meeting up in somebody’s living room, it’s saying: ‘Yes. We have somewhere to go to do what we want to do’.When such a vision comes from the community grassroots as opposed to central government or local authority, it requires immense resources of commitment and dynamism to bring about its realisation. Craic managers speak with fondness of the large corps of community volunteers who helped renovate their building. They even give credit to a certain streak of ‘madness’ in the degree of commitment required: ‘People came in after work and worked till ten, eleven at night. We never thought about it. If you hadda thought about it, you wouldn’t have done it.’ In his dreaming of an arts venue for the Glens, Seamus is also aware that a committed artistic group with dynamic leaders must be in place first. He speaks of the need for ‘pressure’ to build and maintain local interest in such a project. The Arts Council entitled a recent press release celebrating the Capital Build Programme as: ‘If you build it, they will come’. However, in the case of independent community venues, it would seem that it is necessary to have a local collective in place before you can think of building the place.Craic and the Hub have successfully embodied a community-led vision. They make for an interesting comparison with the Moyle area, where no dedicated arts venue exists as yet. Although geographically close together, the Hub and Craic are situated in the differing boroughs of Cookstown and Dungannon & South Tyrone. Like Moyle, both these boroughs have a Catholic majority of around 60 per cent. The GAA is very active in all three boroughs, although hurling is the sport of choice in Moyle and Gaelic football is favoured in Cookstown and Coalisland. They are neither very poor nor highly affluent areas: Moyle is ranked ninth out of twenty-one in the NIMDM Index, where one indicates the most deprived borough. Cookstown ranks fifteenth and Dungannon twelfth. Given these similarities, what are the factors, then, which have led to Cookstown and Coalisland having community-run arts facilities whereas Moyle has none? Caroline and Lee speak of a lack of local interest in drama and a sporting bias in Ballycastle, which hampers their dreams of a dedicated theatre. Lee describes the Ballycastle amateur drama scene as disjointed, cliquish and dominated by the over-forties. Both Craic and the Hub, by contrast, grew out of popular, unified amateur drama movements: the Coalisland Players was revived in a bid to provide positive activities for young people and Open Door Theatre Company in Cookstown grew from the efforts of a dynamic drama facilitator (and is now very much a collective). Coalisland Players also have strong links with the town’s sporting communities: founder member Brian Duffin is a respected local football coach. Both Carol and the Craic managers are very aware that their venues would not exist without the support of the local community: families, businesses and groups who recognise the value of the arts. Craic raised ?22,000 in sponsorship from Coalisland businesses, and the Hub was entirely furnished through in-kind donations. Perhaps it is this virtue of being embedded in, and relevant to, their local communities, which ensures that both venues can thrive.4.32 Embedded venues, and shimmers of communityMcKinnie sees the goal of urban planning as the realisation of optimal relationships of ‘production, circulation, exchange and consumption’, through striving towards a ‘higher and better’ use of space. This concept recognises that certain uses of the built environment will be higher (of a superior type) and better (of a superior use within a type) than others. An example of a ‘higher use’ is the production of social capital. In Standing Ovation, the Arts Council asserts that the Programme has ‘played a significant role in developing the human capital of local people and the communities that the venues serve’. The discourse of ‘regeneration’ and ‘community cohesion’ can be found throughout many Arts Council and DCAL policy documents. Standing Ovation concludes by asserting that in these times of public funding cuts and local government re-organisation, it is more incumbent than ever on arts venues to prove they are deserving of public funding by evidencing their ‘impact on the surrounding area as catalysts for town centre renewal and re-generation’, citing in particular the need to demonstrate economic and social impact. I posit that the Arts Council has over-emphasised economic outcomes to the detriment of social outcomes, although I am aware that these two are linked. In Standing Ovation, economic impacts are accorded twelve pages and social outcomes, just six. This perhaps reflects the NI Executive’s ‘number one priority’ of re-balancing the economy.It is not within the scope of this project to examine in detail whether or not youth theatre has a role to play in the economic regeneration of communities. The argument for youth theatre as a catalyst for community cohesion, however, featured prominently in many of my interviews. By this token, venues which act as ‘home spaces’ to successful youth theatre groups could be seen as facilitators of social capital. Craic, the Hub and the Riverside have fashioned themselves as vital, integrated parts of the communities in which they operate. Their self-fashioning involves demonstrating the ‘higher and better’ use of their buildings: the Hub used to be an abandoned shop and Craic used to be a disused factory space. I have already alluded to the fact that the Hub acts as a catalyst for a variety of ‘recession-busting’ community activities. The Hub Youth Theatre classes are scheduled to facilitate minimal ‘taxi-ing’ from parents, and weekend classes are organised so they don’t clash with local sports groups. Carol elaborates: ‘We’re gearing it round them. Because we know how beneficial drama is for our kids.’ Indeed, the Hub’s slogan ‘Centred Around You’ shows the degree to which it strives to prove its relevance to its users and their wider community.I feel (and this is a personal opinion, pace Matarasso’s ‘composite picture’ and Taylor’s ‘art of crystallisation’) that these activities are of immense benefit to individuals’ social, creative and spiritual well-being as well as being of potential economic benefit. On the day of my visit to the Hub, the interview was repeatedly interrupted by members of the local community dropping in to the open foyer, including a mother who wanted to show Carol a shimmering costume which she had hand-made for her daughter’s youth theatre performance. In the Riverside, the youth theatre is a key element of the venue’s audience development strategy. Jeremy Lewis strives to build a family ethos by making an effort to get to know each parent and organising annual barbeques. He provides free play tickets for youth theatre members because he believes that instilling a theatre-going habit in teenagers will help build loyal audiences for the future: ‘Get them young – there’s always a good chance they’ll stay with you.’ So an established youth theatre can become a nexus for involving entire families in a cycle of personal development and relationship-building with an arts venue. A recurrent theme in my interviews was the need for articulation and promotion of the benefits of youth theatre. In the case of Quadrangle Productions, this is an acute area of local need: whilst it has retained many founder members, Quadrangle struggles to recruit new participants. By contrast, Craic, the Riverside, the Hub and Showstoppers youth theatres are all heavily over-subscribed. For these groups, the issue of the promotion of youth theatre applies less to their immediate local contexts, and more to wider society. Improved recognition of youth theatre as a unique form of artistic and personal development will, they hope, lead to improved funding and support. The four aforementioned groups all have ‘permanent homes’ in dedicated arts centres (with Showstoppers being a long-term tenant in the Bardic). These venues are either established and need no self-promotion or, in the case of the Hub, are generating a ‘buzz’ by virtue of their novelty. I posit that association with dedicated theatre venues, which are making strategic efforts to be embedded in their local communities, is an important factor in determining the level of community support for youth theatres. Other factors are undoubtedly in play, such as the Craic and the Hub’s rich association with amateur drama and with the sporting community. However, I would argue that a youth theatre’s attachment to an active, community-based theatre and arts venue represents a very powerful recruitment draw and source of popular appeal.4.4 Links between youth theatre participation and theatre attendanceCraic and the Riverside have schemes to encourage theatre attendance amongst young people. As mentioned previously, the Riverside Youth Theatre are given free tickets to plays. Sixty seats for every play are set aside for youth theatre members. They get first preference details e-mailed to them, with suitability information, before anyone else sees the Season Programme. Jeremy asserts that approximately 70 per cent of senior members avail of this offer, which suggests a highly successful scheme. Craic offer ticket discounts to their youth theatre members but did not offer figures demonstrating uptake. The Hub has recently acquired a minibus which it hopes to use for theatre trips. All youth theatre participants in the sample had been to see at least one play, although fewer had been with their families.It would be interesting to compare this with a larger sample of local authority venues, to ascertain whether the latter tend to offer ticketing schemes for young people. In Scotland, the Young Scot card gives discount to eleven to twenty-five- year olds across many theatres. Northern Ireland has never had such a province-wide youth scheme.4.5 Towards a sense of ownershipIn Chapter 1, I identified young people’s sense of ownership of their rehearsal and performance spaces as a potential key factor in the development of youth theatre. Instilling a sense of ownership amongst young people is an important priority both for the Riverside and for Craic. On nights when Craic’s senior youth theatre mount productions, this group of ‘Big Craicers’ are given full responsibility for running the venue. As well as performing, the ‘Big Craicers’ work backstage and manage the front of house, having received prior training from the adult staff. Laragh Cullen asserts: ‘it’s the young people that you meet when you walk through the door, when you go to get your programme. […] They become the theatre.’ Brian Duffin concurs, explaining that ‘the young people literally take over the place. Everybody else takes a back seat to them.’ The fact that Craic staff have the confidence to delegate full responsibility for the venue to young people is a testament to the degree to which youth development is central to the venue’s ethos and mission. Craic facilitators describe how young people’s self-esteem develops throughout the course of their involvement in the youth theatre. ‘Improved confidence and self-esteem’ are perhaps the most-cited outcomes for youth arts (they feature heavily in Standing Ovation) and as such, they may be in danger of becoming trite. However, when embodied in practices such as the ‘young people’s takeover’ of Craic, these positive developmental outcomes resonate with a new vigour. Laragh and Brian believe that Craic’s youth-centred ethos is also reflected in the fact that all their performances are devised: ‘The young people own the productions. They’ve made it up, it’s out of their own imaginations.’ They compare this to urban-based ‘Stage Academies’, where there is a set curriculum. The Riverside theatre offers an interesting counterpoint to Craic, because it does not produce purely devised work, yet does actively seek to instil a sense of ownership of the venue amongst young people. The Riverside Youth Theatre produces musicals: in 2011 it was ‘The Jungle Book’ and in 2012, ‘Aladdin’. The Riverside’s 2013 theatre summer scheme involved a semi-devised production based on Disney’s ‘The Lion King’. This production, ‘Pride Rock’, largely followed the Disney film script, but was interspersed with occasional comedy skits devised by cast members. Several of the songs were written and composed by the young people and the Musical Director was a seventeen-year old member of the youth theatre. Whilst this production was run by an external company, it did involve many members of the youth theatre, and the lead facilitator was a former RYT member. ‘Pride Rock’ reflects a less engaged form of devised theatre than that employed in Craic: participants did not give dramatic expression to experiences from their own lives, and their imaginations were bound by the framework of an already-fixed story and cast of characters. However, control over some of the means of production – such as the role of Musical Director– was devolved to young people.This practice of ‘deviations from a script’ is mirrored in the Riverside’s youth-led theatre tours. As part of its outreach strategy, the Riverside offers free tours of the theatre to any visiting group. Jeremy Lewis selects members of the youth theatre to lead these guided visits. At present he has a pool of eight young people (out of 60 RYT members) whom he regularly calls upon to act as tour guides. Jeremy provides them with a basic script containing theatre history and anecdotes, but the young people then have the flexibility to improvise around this script. Jeremy views these tours as a confidence-building process, a means of developing a sense of ownership of the building amongst young people and of showcasing the Riverside’s commitment to youth development to external visitors. Jeremy adds that, because the RYT use rooms in university buildings as well as in the theatre itself, many of the young people have developed a sense of ownership of the university as well. The cases of Craic and the Riverside demonstrate two differing approaches to fostering a sense of ownership: in one case, complete imaginative ownership of the artistic process, product, and physical responsibility for the building (for one night per term), go hand in hand. In the other, the artistic product is largely pre-determined, the process more fixed, but young people are still allowed to assume control in some areas. Ownership of the building is instilled through involving users in showcasing the venue to the outside world via guided tours. This youth-led practice corresponds to contemporary thinking about applied theatre as a participant-led and participant-centred process, albeit supported by skilled facilitators. Helen Nicholson elaborates: Working in [applied] drama often requires a change in institutional culture, a shift in thinking from the idea that professionals control the situation (because of their expert disciplinary knowledge) to a recognition that client groups have specialised knowledge of their own situations and experiences which are central to the work.Although Nicholson is referring here to the practice of facilitating devised theatre workshops, her recognition of the need for ‘a change in institutional culture’ might be applied to the practice of running arts venues themselves. Craic and the Riverside are both venues which include young people in their operational culture, to a greater or lesser degree. The young people are not passive ‘recipients’ of outreach schemes, but are (relatively) active collaborators in the self-fashioning of the venue. By contrast, when Quadrangle members staged a play their local council recreation centre, they felt like unwelcome outsiders. Caroline and Lee found the staff ‘unpleasant’, ‘unco-operative’, and speculated that: ‘I don’t think they really like young people’. Cathie McKimm passionately believes that local authority venues must become more welcoming and inclusive of young people. In her practice as arts management consultant, she has visited many local authority venues and has become adept at making judgements on what a venue’s priorities are, based on their use of space. Lefebvre reflects on this practice of ‘reading’ spaces: ‘That space signifies is incontestable. But what it signifies is dos and don’ts.’ Cathie sees these dynamics of licence and prohibition as key to understanding the constructed nature of local authority venues as ‘representational spaces’ – conceived spaces which are geared towards the priorities of the state, and run by arts managers who are also civil servants. She reflects that in her experience: ‘you see a very different dynamic in local government spaces than you would see in spaces like the Hub, Craic and the Bardic, which have been created by people, by themselves, for themselves’. My fieldwork has revealed that teenagers engaged in youth theatre are adept at building their own sense of ownership of a space, even when the venue is less than ideal. This is evident in the way in which groups from the Hub and the Bardic cannot seem to imagine doing youth theatre in any other space. Facilitator Caroline outlined serious physical failings of the McAlister Hall, but, whilst participant Lee was aware of these failings, his sympathetic depiction of the venue reflects his emotional attachment to Quadrangle as a group: ‘You’ve grown to, like, love it. It’s not the most perfect stage and it’s always freezing, and is hasn’t got a lot to offer, but […] we like being there.’ Chris Grant reveals a similar emotional attachment when describing the venue in Banbridge where his first youth theatre would meet. This was a room on the top floor of an otherwise disused, ‘abandoned’ building – which may objectively seem somewhat unwelcoming – but Chris remembers the place as ‘class’. These young people’s ability to imaginatively appropriate a given venue reflects Lefebvre’s idea of ‘lived spaces’. ‘Space’ denotes not just the built infrastructure but also the imaginative infrastructure which emerges from the creation of spaces between people. Space is, as Lefebvre and McKinnie assert, a social construct. Youth theatre is an art form which is very pre-occupied with economies of space, and the spaces between people. A typical workshop begins with participants walking around the room, being told to ‘try and fill up all the spaces’. Throughout the course of a workshop, a good facilitator will endeavour to build a shared abstract space in which everyone feels included and safe enough to express themselves. It is possible, though more difficult, to create such a space in a building which lacks lighting rigs, clean toilets, a functional stage or a green room. Indeed, Lee speculates that Quadrangle productions have ‘more heart’ than those of the Riverside Youth Theatre, because the limitations which the McAlister Hall places on Quadrangle have forced it to develop a more radical creative practice: ‘In the Riverside Youth Theatre, they have a lot of things given to them […], whereas here [in Quadrangle], we have to work our butts off, and there’s a lot more blood, sweat and tears going into our productions’.In these comments, Lee may be revealing a shimmer of insight into artistic practice. Nevertheless, blood and tears are certainly not compatible with health and safety priorities, nor should they be. A key insight which has crystallised throughout this analysis is that good spaces are created by people, not by the quality of the built infrastructure alone. Gavin O’Connor asserts: ‘you could have the best facility in the world, but if you have a facilitator who’s either not experienced or not clued-in to the client group that they’re working with, then […] ‘so what?’’ I posit that Gavin’s comment also applies to venue managers, umbrella bodies and any independent individual or group who dreams of a dedicated youth theatre space. As outlined in section 4.1 of this chapter, the quality of physical space and the accessibility of facilities remains unevenly spread across some areas of the province, despite the Capital Build Programme. The Arts Council, UAYD and other stakeholders must work towards a more level playing field in terms of access to youth theatre space. However, a beautiful playing field alone will not raise artistic quality or enhance social outcomes. It must be peopled with players who are wholly committed to the game.CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS5.1 ConclusionsI asserted in Chapter 3 that I would avoid drawing any ‘grand truths’ from my fieldwork, but rather use small localised insights to point towards ‘new ways of knowing’ and potential fields of research. The only over-arching conclusion which I would like to draw from this study is, in simple terms, that ‘people are more important than buildings’ and so ‘good people make good spaces’. The quality of the built arts infrastructure does seem to play a role in the development of rural youth theatre. In my sample, those youth theatre groups which have ‘homes’ in dedicated arts venues are more popular and have greater scope for artistic development than those who meet in parish halls. However, the provision of buildings should not be prioritised over the development of quality facilitators, support for groups, promotion of the benefits of youth theatre and advocacy at a local authority level. The latter four factors should, I believe, be the key priorities for the sector in rural areas. I will address each of these areas briefly, summarising insights from my fieldwork and suggesting recommendations for action.5.11 Facilitator trainingThe importance of quality youth theatre facilitation was the most prevalent common theme in my fieldwork. Gavin O’Connor and Cathie McKimm cited facilitator development as the number one priority for the sector. The space in which Quadrangle Productions meet is far from suitable, but group member Lee testifies to a fondness for it. This would not have been the case if Quadrangle’s facilitators hadn’t succeeded in creating a positive abstract space within the cold, ramshackle McAlister Hall. Facilitators are responsible for creating a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere in workshops, as well as for ensuring that all participants feel a sense of ownership of the artistic process and product. At present, Northern Ireland does not have any accredited training course in drama facilitation. NAYD’s ‘Arts Train’ course in the Republic is not open to applicants from NI. UAYD is currently planning a new youth drama facilitators’ training programme and register. UAYD will lobby for this programme on behalf of the sector. My research confirms that the establishment of such an accredited programme would be of significant benefit to the sector, creating space for facilitator networking as well as for skills training, and thus helping to combat the sense of isolation felt by several of the facilitators from rural areas whom I interviewed. Transport bursaries and part-time study options would be necessary in order to ensure equality of access to this scheme for all practitioners (particularly those from rural areas).5.12 Links between groups and community venuesFrom my sample of rural venues and groups, it seems that those youth theatres which are connected to arts venues embedded in their local communities are most successful at recruiting participants. The fact of a group having a ‘permanent home’ in a theatre venue allows for the development of a sense of ownership of that space amongst young people, and the fostering of a theatre-going habit in participants and their families. Groups such as Quadrangle, which are not attached to dedicated arts spaces, require additional resources and extra support to become embedded within their local communities. I would recommend all theatre venues to seriously consider the provision of in-house, year-round youth theatre groups. This may require changes in institutional culture; however, there are many successful models to draw from, like Camden’s Roundhouse or the Contact Theatre in Manchester. The building of links between youth groups, venues and local communities has wider implications beyond the youth theatre sector: opening up arts venues to young people will help build artists – and audiences – for life.5.13 Promotion of benefits of youth theatreAll interviewees spoke of the benefits of youth theatre involvement. Several commented that there appears to be a knowledge gap in their local areas about what youth theatre actually involves. In the Moyle/ Glens area in particular, there appears to be a sporting bias at the expense of interest in drama. Three interviewees from this area also cited a stigma about young male involvement in theatre. I would recommend mapping of youth theatre ‘cold spots’ such as the Glens, with a view to UAYD co-ordinating a localised campaign to promote the benefits of youth theatre involvement in these areas. NAYD’s recent ‘Capture YT’ initiative may provide a source of inspiration. 5.14 Local authority advocacy Many of my interviewees seemed uneasy about the impact of the imminent RPA on local arts funding. In Ambitions for the Arts, ACNI proposes to help the eleven new super-councils to develop dedicated arts strategies. ACNI’s ‘Draft Youth Arts Strategy’ proposes to work with local councils to encourage them to facilitate the provision of rehearsal and showcase space for young people’s work. If effectively implemented, both of these proposals would be of significant benefit to my interviewees. Furthermore, the development of ‘youth theatre advocates’ within local government would enhance the quality and range of spaces available in local communities.5.2 Areas for future researchIn Ambitions for the Arts, ACNI state that ‘we know we have to make a more persuasive and compelling case as to why public funding for the arts is essential, especially in straitened times, and what impact it has on the lives of our communities and individuals’. ACNI’s ‘ Strategy’ cites ‘Promoting the value of youth arts’ as a key action. In the light of this study, it would seem that youth theatre offers a particularly fruitful field in which to gather arguments to contribute towards a wider discourse on the value of youth arts to NI society. Research could explore not only the oft-cited outcomes of ‘increased self-esteem’ and ‘improved confidence’, but also the contribution of youth theatre activities to economic regeneration and community cohesion, as demonstrated in the example of the Hub.In view of the imminent changes in public administration, further research into the role of local councils and local-authority-run venues in promoting youth arts would be of strategic benefit to the sector. ACNI proposes to develop bi-lateral Memoranda of Understanding around arts provision with Belfast and Derry borough councils only. It is vital to ensure that rural areas do not get left behind in this process. Research into the government’s role in fostering rural youth arts could encompass comparisons with policies in other areas of the UK and abroad. The importance of independent rural arts venues being embedded within their local communities was another important theme in this research. Deeper and wider investigation into the nature of this ‘community embedding’ in rural areas could be fruitful. Of particular interest are the links between arts and sports communities in the countryside.Finally, this study did not address the role of the Young Farmers Clubs. Many practitioners within the Belfast arts community seem unaware of YFCU’s involvement in the arts. Given the apparently high level of drama activity within YFCU, this issue would merit a dedicated academic study in its own right.5.3 Final remarksI believe that, in an auditorium during a theatre performance, ‘the play’ is more than the performance onstage. Instead, ‘the play’ is in the air, in the space between performers and audience. A sensitively designed theatre auditorium will enhance the scope for this abstract ‘play’, as will skilful artistic deployment of a theatre’s technical facilities. However, these are not the main determining factors of a play’s success. The quality of a play depends first and foremost on people: on the relationship between actors and audience. Three of my interviewees referred to a ‘special buzz’ amongst audiences in rural communities, a markedly different atmosphere from urban venues, where they perceived audiences to be more detached and critical. In good youth theatre workshops, as in good performances, a shared abstract space is created in which each individual feels they have a stake. In rural communities, the creation of these abstract artistic spaces – be they through workshops or performances – is a highly effective means of combating isolation and creating a sense of community identity, whilst leaving space for influences from elsewhere. Good spaces are created by committed people, and rural communities in Northern Ireland need more space to play. BIBLIOGRAPHYBooks & articlesCarruthers, Mark and Stephen Dodds (editors), Stepping Stones: The Arts in Ulster 1971-2001 (Belfast: Blackstaff, 2001).Grady, S. (2003), ‘Accidental Marxists? The Challenge of Critical and Feminist Pedagogies for the Practice of Applied Drama’, Youth Theatre Journal, 17, pp.65-81.Heathcote, Dorothy, ‘Drama as a Process for Change’ in The Applied Theatre Reader, edited by Tim Prentki and Sheila Preston (London: Routledge, 2009), pp. 200-206.Krüger, Dr Simone, Ethnography in the Performing Arts: a Student Guide (Palatine/JMU: Liverpool, 2008).Le Febvre, Henri, The Production of Space, translation by Donald Nicholson-Smith (Oxford: Blackwell, 1991).Matarasso, Francois, ‘Evaluating Arts Programmes’ in The Social Impact of Arts Programmes (Stroud: Comedia, 1996).Matarasso, Francois [et al.], Within Reach: A Strategy for Community-based Arts Activities in Belfast (Belfast, 1995).McKinnie, Michael, City Stages: Theatre and Urban Space in a Global City (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007).Newton, Nigel (2010), ‘The use of semi-structured interviews in qualitative research: strengths and weaknesses’. Paper submitted in part completion of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Bristol. Retrieved online at < 1st July 2013.Nicholson, Helen, Applied Drama (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005).Reason, Matthew (2006), ‘Young audiences and live theatre, Part 1: Methods, participation and memory in audience research’ in Studies in Theatre and Performance, 26 (2), pp.129-145.Reason, Matthew (2006), ‘Young audiences and live theatre, Part 2: Perceptions of liveness in performance in Studies in Theatre and Performance, 26 (3), pp. 221-241.Richardson, Laurel, ‘Writing: A Method of Inquiry’ in Handbook of Qualitative Research, Second Edition, edited by N. Denzin and Y. Lincoln, (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000) pp. 923-48.Taylor, Phil, Applied theatre:?creating transformative encounters in the community (Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003).Williams, Raymond, Keywords, Second Edition (London: Fontana, 1983).Strategies, project reports & policy documentsArts Council of England, Case Studies: rural arts (ACE: London, 2003).Arts Council of Northern Ireland, ‘Draft Youth Arts Strategy 2012-2016’, as yet unpublished, accessed by kind permission of Gavin O’Connor, ACNI Arts Development Officer for Youth Arts.ACNI, Consultation draft: Ambitions for the Arts – a Five Year Strategic Plan for the Arts in Northern Ireland 2013-2018 (Belfast: ACNI, 2013).ACNI & Deloitte (2013), Standing Ovation: a strategic evaluation of the Arts Council’s Capital Build Programme (Belfast: ACNI, 2013).ACNI & Youth Council for Northern Ireland (2008), State of the Arts: Youth Arts Consultation, available at <; [accessed 7 January 2013].Cookstown District Council (2012), Cookstown Town Centre Master Plan, available at < ; [accessed 17 August 2013].Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (2011), Corporate Plan and Balanced Scorecard 2011-2015, available at <; [accessed 6 April 2013].DCAL (2012), Business Plan 2013-2014, available at <; [accessed 16 August 2013].DCAL & ACNI (2010), Mapping of government funded arts venues, activities and festivals in Northern Ireland 2010/11, available at < ; [accessed 14 August 2013].FitzGibbon, Ali (2011), Young at Art Strategy 2011-2015, available to download at <; [accessed 14 March 2013]. FitzGibbon, Ali (2011), ‘Audience Development Proposal: A Submission to Belfast City Council under Peace III’ [unpublished; accessed by kind permission of Young at Art, Belfast].Goyer Gorman, Molly and Bonnie Soroke on behalf of Young at Art (2013), ‘Shankill Audience Development Project Report’ [unpublished; accessed by kind permission of Young at Art]Grant, David, “Family Album”: Pilot Project of the Virtual Reality Theatre Company, (Belfast: Virtual Reality, 1994).Grant, David for the Community Relations Council, Playing the Wild Card: a survey of community drama and smaller-scale theatre from a community relations perspective (Belfast: Community Relations Council, 1993).Harrow Arts Centre (2013), Case Study: The Guestlist, available at <; [accessed 5 June 2013].Imaginate (2010), Evaluating the Performing Arts: a step by step teaching guide, available at < ; [accessed 15 May 2013].Jarvis, Pam (2013), A Night Less Ordinary: Evaluation, available at <; [accessed 1 June 2013].Marketing: arts (2004), Cre8 – Audience Development in Ross on Wye, available at <; [accessed 15 May 2013].National Association for Youth Drama (2009), Centre Stage + 10: A Report on Youth Theatre in Ireland, available at < ; [accessed 4 August 2013].NI Executive (2011), Programme for Government 2011-2015: Building a Better Future, available at < > [accessed 27 March 2013].NI Statistics and Research Agency (2011), Young Persons’ Behaviour and Attitudes Survey Bulletin available at <; [accessed 16 May 2013].OFMDFM (2008), Play and Leisure Policy Statement for Northern Ireland, available at < ; [accessed 7 June 2013].OFMDFM (2006), A ten-year strategy for children and young people in Northern Ireland 2006-2016, available at < ; [accessed 8 July 2013].Promote YT (2012), Youth Theatre Sector Development Plan 2013-2015, available at <; [accessed 16 July 2013].Promote YT (2012), Review of Youth Theatre in Scotland 2012, available at <; [accessed 5 August 2013].Rural Cultural Forum / Littoral (2010), Creative Rural Communities: Proposal for a Rural Cultural Strategy, available at < ; [accessed 25 July 2013].Schaefer, Kerrie, ‘Performing environmental change: MED Theatre and the changing face of community-based performance research’ (2012) in RiDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 17, 2, (May 2012), pp.247-263.Theatre for Young Audiences UK (2011), Drama, Theatre and Young People: a Manifesto available at <; [accessed 5 May 2013].Ulster Association of Youth Drama, The Etna Effect: a strategic plan for youth drama 2004-2009 (Lisburn: UAYD, 2004).UAYD, Strategic Business Plan 2008-2011, (Lisburn: UAYD, 2007).UAYD, Corporate Plan 2012-2015 (Belfast: UAYD, 2011).UAYD, Business Plan 2012-2013 (Belfast: UAYD, 2011).Interviews, consultation workshops and conference seminars1. Doey, Carol and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on the Hub Bt80 venue and youth theatreDoey, C. (2013), Interview on the Hub Bt80 venue and youth theatre. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], the Hub Bt80 (Cookstown), 1 August 2013.2. Duffin, Brian, Mickey Carolan, Laragh Cullen and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on Craic venue and youth theatreDuffin, B., Mickey Carolan and Laragh Cullen (2013), Interview on Craic venue and youth theatre. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], Craic Theatre and Arts Centre (Coalisland), 18 July 20133. Grant, Chris and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on Chris’s experiences as a young actor from a small villageGrant, C. (2013), Interview on Chris’s experiences as a young actor from a small village. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], QUB Postgraduate Centre, 2 August 2013.4.Grant, David and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on the history of youth theatre in Northern IrelandGrant, D. (2013), Interview on the history of youth theatre in Northern Ireland. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], Queens University Belfast, 19 July 2013.5. Lewis, Jeremy and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on the Riverside venue and youth theatreLewis, J. (2013), Interview on the Riverside venue and youth theatre. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], the Riverside theatre (Coleraine), 26 July 2013.6. McAfee, Caroline and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on Quadrangle ProductionsMcAfee, Caroline (2013), Interview on Quadrangle Productions. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], Ballycastle, 31 July 2013.7. McKimm, Cathie and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on the Ulster Association of Youth DramaMcKimm, Cathie (2013), Interview on the Ulster Association of Youth Drama. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], Common Grounds Café, Belfast, 16 July 2013.8.McLaughlin, Lee and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on Lee’s experiences as a young actor from a rural areaMcLaughlin, Lee (2013), Interview on Lee’s experiences as a young actor from a rural area. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], Ballycastle, 30 July 2013.9.O’Connor, Gavin and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on the Arts Council’s policy on youth theatre and the built arts infrastructureO’Connor, Gavin (2013), Interview on the Arts Council’s policy on youth theatre and the built arts infrastructure. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast, 2 August 2013.10. O’Hara, Seamus and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on Seamus’s experiences as a young actor from a small villageO’Hara, Seamus (2013), Interview on Seamus’s experiences as a young actor from a small village. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [in person], Cushendun, 14 July 2013.11.O’Neill, Joanna and Molly Goyer GormanInterview on the Glens Young Farmers Club drama activitiesO’Neill, Joanna (2013), Interview on the Glens Young Farmers Club drama activities. Interviewed by Molly Goyer [via telephone], 3 August 2013.12. Showstoppers Youth Theatre and Molly Goyer GormanConsultation drama workshop Showstoppers (2013), Consultation drama workshop. Workshop facilitated by Molly Goyer Gorman in the Bardic theatre, Donaghmore, 11 July 2013.13.The Hub Youth Theatre and Molly Goyer GormanConsultation drama workshopThe Hub Youth Theatre (2013), Consultation drama workshop. Workshop prepared by Molly Goyer and facilitated by Carol Doey, the Hub Bt80, Cookstown, 6 August 2013.14. Colin Bradie and Molly Goyer GormanSeminar: ‘Developing Youth Theatre from Small-Scale to Major International Collaborations’Bradie, Colin (2013), Developing Youth Theatre from Small-Scale to Major International Collaborations. Seminar documented by Molly Goyer, UAYD SkillsTap Conference, The MAC Belfast, 1 March 2013.Websites visited for general research purposesCulture Hive (2013), < ;, site managed by the Arts Marketing Association [accessed 12 May 2013].Daisi (2013), <;, Devon-based network body for youth art [accessed 3 April 2013].Gaelic Athletic Association (2013), < ; [accessed 20 August 2013].National Association for Youth Drama (2013), < ; [accessed 15 July 2013].National Association of Youth Theatres (2013), < > [accessed 12 July 2013].National Rural Touring Forum (2013), < .uk> [accessed 17 July 2013].Night Out / Noson Allan (2013), < >, rural touring support scheme run by Arts Council of Wales [accessed 16 May 2013].Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, NINIS search tool (2013), <; [accessed 2 May 2010].Rural Community Network (NI),< > [accessed 1 August 2013].Promote YT (2013), < ; [accessed 14 July 2013]. Wide Awake Devon (2013), < >, support & development body for the arts in Devon [accessed 15 April 2013].Young Farmers’ Club of Ulster (2013), < ; [accessed 24 August 2013].Young Scot (2013), <; [accessed 19 May 2013].OtherArts Council of Northern Ireland (2013), ‘If you build it, they will come’, Press Release on 4 June 2013, available at <; [accessed 2nd September 2013].Ben Cameron, ‘Making Ourselves Relevant’, speech delivered at All-Ireland Arts Conference 2012, re-printed on Northern Ireland Theatre Association website, (2012), <; [accessed 23 October 2012].UAYD (2013), ‘Database of results of UAYD Mapping & Audit’, March 2013 [accessed by kind permission of UAYD].APPENDIXTABLE OF CONTENTSCASE STUDIES……………………………….......................p.1 Case study 1: Quadrangle………………………….p.1 Case study 2: Craic……………………………………p.4 Case study 3: The Hub………………………………p.7EXAMPLE OF INTERVIEW DATA ANALYSIS………………………………………………………p.10EXMPLE OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS……………………………………………………p.15REPORT ON SHOWSTOPPERS CONSULTATION DRAMA WORKSHOP………………………………………p.16COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE: THE HUB YOUTH THEATRE…………………………………………..p.25CASE STUDIESCase Study 1: Quadrangle Productions, BallycastleQuadrangle Productions are a youth theatre company of nineteen members aged eight to nineteen. The company has four facilitators: an Acting Coach/Director, a Technical Manager/Acting Coach, a Dance Tutor and a Voice Tutor. All these facilitators work for free.Quadrangle was established in 2010 by University of Ulster drama graduate Caroline McAfee, herself a native of Ballycastle. Caroline noticed a distinct lack of young people in the local amateur drama scene, which was then comprised of the GAA Drama Group and the Ballycastle Choral Society. Senior Quadrangle member Lee McLaughlin describes these groups as social clubs, featuring ‘the Who’s Who’ of the town […]. They only brought young people in if they needed them for a specific production.’ Quadrangle was founded to fill this gap and to provide positive activities for teenagers in Ballycastle, a town in which the complaint that ‘there’s nothing for the young people’ can frequently be heard. Quadrangle is now the only remaining active drama group in Ballycastle. They produce devised work, plays scripted by members, and dance routines.At first, Quadrangle rehearsed in the Scout Den. This building has ‘a tiny stage, like two kitchen tables’ and a problem with damp. The company’s first production was staged in the Sheskburn Recreation Centre, home of Moyle District Council. Lee does not have happy memories of this venue: ‘I didn’t feel like we were welcome to be performing there. We were paying, just like everyone else, but the way they treated us wasn’t nice. And they were very un-co-operative.’ Caroline concurs, adding that the staff were ‘unpleasant’ to them, and seemed as if they ‘didn’t really like young people’. The Sheskburn is very rarely used for drama but often used for youth sports. The fees for one night were ?130, so Quadrangle ended up ‘handing over the entire evening’s profit to the Council’.As Quadrangle membership expanded, they moved their workshops from the Scout Den to the McAlister Hall, a parish hall owned by the neighbouring Catholic Church. Their second production was staged at the Riverside Theatre. Lee describes a moment of realisation during this production which made him and other members question their choice of venue: ‘It was like: “Why are we doing this, when our whole thing is that we want to provide drama for Ballycastle?”’ Quadrangle members realised then that they saw their mission as bringing drama to Ballycastle audiences.Since 2011, Quadrangle have used the McAlister Hall as their regular space for rehearsals and productions. The stage has no lighting rig, no ‘get-round’ unless Quadrangle put up a cyclorama and no sound system. The backstage room is used as storage space for the local playgroup, so Quadrangle have to use a small upstairs space as their dressing room/green room. Throughout winter 2012 to 2013, part of the roof leaked. Lee is somewhat defensive of this space: ‘You’ve grown to, like, love it. It’s not the most perfect stage and it’s always freezing, and is hasn’t got a lot to offer, but, like, y’know, it does the job, and I think that’s important. And we like being there.’Caroline is less effusive: ‘for the amount you pay, I think the facilities are very poor’ (the rent is ?10/hour). She explains that whilst the venue would pass a ‘very basic’ Health & Safety test, there are recurrent problems with the heating and the condition of the facilities (such as old nails sticking out of tables). She adds that when Quadrangle first started using the hall, the toilets were a ‘sheer disgusting mess’, but that after they made a complaint, the situation improved. The McAlister Hall is shared by several local community groups including the mothers-and-toddlers, boxing and bingo groups. Bingo takes place every Friday night; this seems to be an inflexible arrangement, meaning that Quadrangle can never stage productions on Fridays. There is no central body responsible for the management of the hall and no official caretaker. The local priest takes on the role of venue administrator, consulting parish committees as required (the Parish Child Protection Committee had to ascertain Quadrangle’s compliance with their policy). Caroline speculates that this lack of a central venue management body is the reason why the hall is neglected and why there are sometimes tensions between groups which share the space: ‘That is the problem, there is nobody there that takes control.’Both Caroline and Lee dream of having a dedicated theatre space in Ballycastle, and both harbour carefully designed visions of how such a space would look. However, they seem fatalistic about how unlikely this dream is to ever be realised: ‘It would be lovely to have our own theatre. There is space for one, but you’re never going to get the support here.’Case Study 2: Craic Theatre and Arts Centre, CoalislandCraic is a community-led, community-embedded arts space which has been going strong in rural Tyrone for over fifteen years. It is located in the small town of Coalisland (population circa 5,600). Craic grew organically out of the local amateur drama scene.In 1996, Coalisland (Catholic) Parish Council succeeded in reviving the area’s amateur drama group as part of a drive to provide more positive activities for young people in the parish. The revived Coalisland Players initially rehearsed in the parish hall, but, as founder member Brian Duffin explains, ‘all the time we had this dream that we could get a place of our own’. The Players approached their local Development Association about the possibility of renting a derelict building, and were delighted to be offered the space at an extremely low rent. This initial acquisition of the space was followed by gargantuan efforts in fundraising and building renovation from the committed founder group, with the support of their local community. Brian relates how he and his co-worker Mickey amassed ?22, 000 from the business community in a matter of weeks: ‘It gave us an indication of how well-got we were within the community, how […] people appreciated what we were doing.’ Locals also volunteered their time and skills in renovating the space, with the result that, apart from the heating system and the suspended ceiling, every single renovation in the building was done by volunteers. Mickey Carolan remembers: ‘People came in after work and worked till ten, eleven at night. We never thought about it. If you hadda thought about it, you wouldn’t have done it!’ Former Craic youth theatre facilitator Laragh Cullen believes that the venue is now at the heart of the local community: ‘It’s a local feature that everybody’s very proud of, and it’s been built up that way. It’s a community ownership.’ Brian relates how, when the Coalisland Players operated out of the parish hall, very few Protestants would take part in or attend their shows. However, Craic is seen as a ‘neutral space’, and its user group is now very diverse. From its origins as part of a youth work initiative, youth theatre has remained one of Craic’s core activities. Their youth theatre currently comprises one hundred and sixty members aged four to eighteen, and there is a waiting list. Facilitators often have to use every available room in the building to accommodate over-subscribed groups, but they are loath to turn people away. Brian and Mickey speak of the youth theatre as a family, referring to ‘our ones’. They relish the fact that parents who were former members now send their children to the workshops. When teenage ‘Craicers’ stage a production, they literally take over the running of the entire venue, managing the Front of House as well as backstage. Laragh explains: ‘the young people become the theatre. That’s the way you really see this place work.’Indeed, although there is a team of core staff (many of whom helped to build the venue), there is no official hierarchy of job titles in the Craic management system. Rather, staff members have areas of expertise, and then roles are regularly shared out based on priority. Brian Duffin elaborates: ‘The title of Manager/General Manager varies between people – it doesn’t matter a damn!’ One might speculate that this lack of a formal, fixed management system means that the venue is more easily accommodating to young people taking over the space. If, for example, the role of Front of House Manager is seen as just that – a role, rather than a specific person – then there is (perhaps) less anxiety or preciousness about that role being passed on to someone else.An area which Brian and Mickey still struggle with is the building of links been participation in the venue’s arts activities and attendance at its performances. They try to give their youth theatre members a discount for all appropriate shows, but the uptake of this offer is variable. Brian is disappointed ‘that a lot of people who have performed on Craic stage, who are involved in Craic, don’t regularly attend performances.’Leaving aside this lack of information about arts audience motivation (a sector-wide problem), Craic is extremely well used by the local community. However, Brian and Mickey are reluctant to officially promote their achievements: ‘We often receive the comment from the Arts Council that: “You don’t big yourselves up enough. You should be trumpeting everything you do.” And we say, but maybe we’re from a country area, […] we just don’t do that […]. We say, if people want to see what we’re about, come along here and see what we’re about.’ They believe that Craic’s role and standing within its local community is unique, even in comparison with urban venues. Brian cites the fact that all their youth theatre consists of devised work as evidence of Craic’s commitment to originality, as opposed to the ‘Stage Academy’ approach where there is a set programme of activity which rarely changes. Craic staff are now keen to build an education and outreach programme around the history of their building and, by extension, the history of Coalisland. Craic’s founder members are occasionally called upon to consult with other development bodies about the building of arts venues. These experiences of consultancy have reinforced Brian’s view that Craic’s success is due in part to the fact that it was designed and built by the people who use it: ‘We’ve always said that if we were planning on getting a new theatre, we wouldn’t let an architect near it! Until we designed it. We would have to design it first.’Case Study 3: The Hub Bt80, CookstownThe Hub’s logo proudly proclaims: ‘Centred Around You’, and indeed, few could claim that this newly-established community space in Cookstown does not serve its local population. Open since March 2013, the Hub is home to a youth theatre, music classes, a weekly jumble sale, a cookery school, sewing machine workshops, open mic nights, fashion shows and, of course, plays. The venue is the brainchild of playwright, director and trained drama facilitator Carol Doey. After completing her diploma in Drama Facilitation, Carol moved back to Cookstown with the aim of bringing theatre to her home town: ‘When my husband and I were let go with our certificates, we thought we’d move mountains. And we did.’ Carol established Open Door Theatre Company in 2000, and the company has produced eight plays to date, including four large-scale community productions. However, Open Door never had a permanent base for rehearsals. They performed in the Burnavon, the local council-funded arts and cultural centre, but the Burnavon were unable to provide them with rehearsal space, so the company ‘lugged’ their materials between the leisure centre, the local technical college, the St Vincent de Paul and Women’s Aid. During one production, they were forced to hold a night’s rehearsal in a disused sheep-shed. Carol was so demoralised by this experience that she was ready to give up. However, other company members said to her: ‘That’s not fair. You introduced us all to drama […] and now you’re quitting.’ This gave Carol the spur she needed to begin seeking a permanent home for the company.Open Door obtained the lease on what is now the Hub in early 2012. A former sweet-shop and take-away, the building had been lying empty for two years. It is situated on the Burn Road, opposite the Burnavon theatre, and just down the road from the South West College Campus, which runs a BTEC in Performing Arts. The Burn Road is central to Cookstown Council’s draft Master Plan for community development: the Council aims to ‘further promote the Burn Road as an entertainment hub’. Whilst this master plan focuses on the economic potential of the Burnavon and the Cineplex, the Hub is fast making its name in the local area as a facilitator of social capital.Although the Hub was intended as a rehearsal venue, Open Door Theatre had to find ways of paying the ?10,000/year rent. However, the Company did not wish to ‘make money just for the sake of it’. They wanted to offer creative activities which, at the same time as raising funds, would also help the local community to develop useful skills for surviving the recession. From this desire grew the sewing machine classes, the furniture repair workshop, the jumble sale and the meditation group. This last group meets in the ‘Quiet Room’, a uniquely peaceful space in the centre of the Hub which anyone can visit for a moment of calm. Indeed, many people do just drop in: during my visit, there was a steady stream of people availing of the free tea and coffee. So, in this hive of activity which blends the social, the practical and even the spiritual, where does the youth theatre fit in? Carol is adamant that youth theatre remains one of the primary reasons for the Hub’s existence. Open Door started their first permanent youth theatre in April, and the seventy-five places in this group were soon filled. There is now a waiting list of an additional seventy-five young people, whom Carol is trying to accommodate into this September’s intake. She shares the facilitation with her husband and with a young actor from Enniskillen. However, Carol hopes to persuade the Hub committee to acquire new premises which would be solely for rehearsals. Whilst she is happy about the way in which the Hub has accommodated so many other activities, Carol dreams of a space dedicated entirely to youth drama: ‘In there, the kids open it: it’s our space. It’s totally for drama. […] It’ll be lovely.’The case of the Hub shows the creative impact which one dynamic, well-connected and popular individual can have within a community. Carol has a talent for strategic networking. Last year, during her annual community chat show, she interviewed representatives of local sporting organisations, seeking to establish common ground: ‘We connect with everybody because we know that it’s better to work with them than work against them. And I think if children aren’t in sports, they should be in the arts.’ Carol has also negotiated a mutually beneficial relationship with Cookstown Council. The Hub has never requested funding from their local authority; instead Carol asked that the Council provide long-term developmental support: ‘I said to the Council: “Take me under your wing. Support me in everything I do. If I’m stuck with something, allow me to ring and get straight through to somebody, and send somebody down to help me.” And they do that.’ This model of concerted non-financial support from a local authority is one which the Arts Council may well take interest in, if they implement their recommendation to develop dedicated arts strategies with the new eleven ‘super-councils’ in 2015.EXAMPLE OF INTERVIEW DATA ANALYSIS: Phone conversation with Joanna O’Neill, 3 August 2013BackgroundJoanna grew up on a farm outside Ballycastle, Co. Antrim. She was involved in the Glens Young Farmers Club as a teenager and took part in many of their drama activities. Joanna went on to study Drama at the University of Ulster (Magee). She is currently back living at home, working in the mental health services in Ballycastle whilst pursuing her interest in film acting. Joanna now takes on a leadership role in promoting drama within the Glens YFC.Phone interview transcription (Molly’s notes in italics) Nodes of meaningThemeMolly asks for an overview of the Young Farmers’ Club’s involvement in drama activities. Joanna replies that the YFC operates in local areas across NI, so each local branch organises its own drama activities. YFC headquarters are in Belfast, where an Events Co-ordinator provides support for local branches to organise events and also co-ordinates province-wide competitions such as the Arts Festival.Molly asks for further information about the Arts Festival. Joanna explains that each participating club must submit a 20-min piece of dance/drama/sketches/ ‘craic’. There are regional heats in the larger towns like Ballymena and Ballymoney, and a Gala Final in Belfast or Derry where the winning club is announced. There is also an annual ‘Drama Dinner’ where prizes are awarded.Joanna then adds that YFCs can also submit a 1-act, or 3-act ‘drama’ to the annual One-act and Three-act Drama Festivals. The YFC website has a bank of scripts to choose from. Each club is sent out competition forms, and then it is up to them to organise rehearsals and the performance. Clubs fundraise to cover these costs.Molly asks which venues are most frequently used for these purposes by Joanna’s own branch, the Glens YFC. Joanna replies that they generally use the McQuillan’s Gaelic Athletic Club to rehearse, but if they’re doing ‘something bigger’ for which a stage is required, then they would use the Carey Hall or the McAlister Hall. However, they haven’t used the latter two venues for far this year.Molly asks what the venue fees are like. Joanna replies that she thinks the GAC charge Glens YFC for heat and light only. Molly asks whether they can access the Carey or McAlister Hall for free or at a discounted rate. Joanna replies that The Carey and McAlister Halls do charge, but advises contacting them for details of their hire fees.Molly asks about access to technical equipment for YFC drama activities. Joanna replies that the Glens YFC productions are generally ‘low-tech’, using ‘basic lights’, ‘no specialised gels’ and generally a CD player. She adds: ‘You work with what you have, then whenever you do get things like proper lights, well, that makes life easier’.Molly asks about the level of participation in drama activities within YFC. Joanna replies that it is ‘very high, and very competitive’. She qualifies this by commenting that in her immediate local area, she is trying to get more young people involved in drama because ‘some of the young boys and girls are more interested in sports’. However, levels of participation are high on a province-wide level and at the Arts Festival ‘everyone’s wanting the coveted title’, and the calibre of productions is ‘quite high’. Joanna comments that even young boys, ‘farming fellas’, get involved and ‘there’s not a stigma about drama’ – it is recognised that drama provides ‘fun, craic and club camaraderie’.She goes on to say that at a local (Glens) level, ‘drama’s not something that’s publicised around here’, explaining that: ‘You mention something about drama to some of the boys in our club and they look at you as if to say: “Yeah right’”. She adds ‘But I just tell them they’re doing it. That’s it.’Joanna goes on to speak about the value of involvement in YFC. She explains that young people become involved from the age of 12 right up till they’re 25 or even 30. Joanna asserts that ‘it’s a great way for young people to socialise’ and that it’s ‘healthy’ as opposed to hanging around in bars. She explains that as a young person involved in YFC, she had the opportunity to ‘travel all around the country’. She adds that YFC allows you to meet people from other religions too, which is a ‘good thing’.Molly thanks Joanna and asks if there’s anything else she’d like to share. She tells Molly about an upcoming BBQ on 30th August to re-launch the Glens YFC. There will be a tug-of-war, which she says is very popular with the boys. Molly asks how many members are in the Glens YFC, and Joanna replies that there are ‘20-25, maybe 30’, and that participation levels depend on the specific activity/ competition in question. She adds that: ‘there are competitions for everyone’, specifying that sport is particularly popular in her local area.Molly thanks Joanna for her time.Lots of drama activity in YFCUYFCU Arts Festivals and Drama Dinners are prestigious and exciting.GAC is main venue for drama activity, but bigger halls with stages are hired for special events.Gaelic Athletic Club fees are reasonable. Interviewee unable/unwilling to give info on other venue fees.YFC productions are ‘low-tech’ by necessity not choice.YFC drama participation is high at national level. But less participation in Glens – sporting bias?Some social stigma does exist (external to YFC) around “farming fellas” involvement in drama. YFC activities challenge this.Value of drama not articulated/promoted in Glens society. Some males reluctant. Need for confident facilitators.YFC plays a positive role in young people’s development and in challenging sectarianism.Sport very popular in Glens, particularly amongst males.YFC as a hive of drama activityLinks between drama group and GAALack of suitable theatre equipment and facilities.Sporting bias in GlensSocial stigma around males in drama.Need for greater promotion of value of drama. Young male reluctance to become involved in drama.Value of groups providing positive activities for rural young people.Sporting bias in Glens.Clustering of themesYFC as a hive of drama activity.Value of groups like YFC providing positive activities for rural young people.Need for greater promotion of value of drama at a local level. Links between drama group and GAA (x2)Sporting bias in GlensSporting bias in Glens.Lack of suitable theatreequipment/facilities.Social stigma around males in drama.Young male reluctance to become involved in drama.EXAMPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW: Questions for Craic Managers, 19 July 20131. Could you briefly talk me through the history of the Craic venue?2. How important were young people to the establishment of Craic? How do you see their role now?3. In what ways do young people currently use the physical space of Craic?4. Do you as a venue encourage your youth theatre members to attend theatre performances?5. Do you feel that you face any challenges specific to your situation as a rural arts venue?6. What impact (if any) do you feel the Review of Public Administration changes will have on Craic?REPORT ON SHOWSTOPPERS CONSULTATION DRAMA WORKSHOPReport on consultation workshop with ‘Showstoppers’ youth musical theatre group, 11 July 2013, the Bardic theatre, DonaghmoreContextThe area Donaghmore ward (County Tyrone) population profileUsually resident population: 2,588 living in 866 householdsPercentage of population aged under 16 years: 24.23% 70.36% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 27.20% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion; and27.16% indicated that they had a British national identity, 43.62% had an Irish national identity and 31.38% had a Northern Irish national identity*.On Census Day 27th March 2011, considering the population aged 16 years old and over, 24.73% had a degree or higher qualification; while 38.09% had no or low (Level 1*) qualifications.On Census Day 27th March 2011, considering the population aged 16 to 74 years old, 67.88% were economically active and 32.12% were economically inactive. 60.53% were in paid employment and 4.30 % were unemployed.Nearest town is Dungannon (pop. 47,758) which is 2 miles away.Donaghmore village has a pharmacy, several grocery stores, several takeaways and several bars including The Brewer’s House gastro pub.The venue: the Bardic theatreEstablished in 1982, the Bardic theatre grew out of the thriving local Am-Dram movement which in turn grew out of the local GAA club social scene. The theatre comprises an auditorium which seats 196 people, a rehearsal studio, changing rooms and a bar area with seating and a T.V. The Bardic now forms part of a large building complex which houses the BEAM (Bardic Educational Arts & Media) Creative Network and the recently-established Torrent Complex, a state-of the-arts sports facility. The building is situated beside the local GAA pitch.The group: Showstoppers Showstoppers youth musical theatre group have been meeting in the Bardic theatre since 2009, when the group was established by its current leader Stephanie Faloon, who is from Donaghmore. The group has grown steadily since then: there are currently 90 members and a waiting list of 30. The group is divided into Junior and Senior sections, with a new Intermediate section to be established in September 2013 due to high demand. Showstoppers spend autumn term developing acting, singing and dance skills through workshops. In spring, their annual productions are cast based on Stephanie’s assessment of their talents throughout the previous term. Showstoppers perform annual Junior and Senior shows, which run for 2-3 nights in the Bardic, playing to full houses. This year’s Senior show was ‘Grease’.In the summer months, there are several Showstoppers week-long schemes where they work on skills development. The scheme which Molly visited one was open to all ages, but Stephanie is running another scheme just for teenagers in August.Arrival & IntroductionsMolly arrived just as the group were receiving feedback on their previous work. She was immediately struck by the large size of the group – 27 young people – and their age ranges: from 5 to 17. They were in a fairly small studio room with mirrors and a barre, on the ground floor below the auditorium. Stephanie asked if Molly would prefer to use the larger space in the auditorium for her workshop, and she agreed to this. Several senior members were dispatched to prepare the space.After a short break, the group moved to the auditorium. The tiered seating was already stacked up leaving a large wide wooden floor space in front of the stage.Once participants were seated in a circle, Molly introduced herself. She led a short ‘name & action’ game which participants threw themselves into; few were reluctant or shy. She then explained the nature of her research. Molly added that as she knew very little about Showstoppers, could some people volunteer to tell her anything that she might not know about their group. After a brief pause, one of the two boys stated: ‘Well, there aren’t many boys’, which was greeted with laughter and a high-five from the other boy present, who also happened to be the longest-serving Showstoppers member. The first boy explained that there were ten boys in the year-round Showstoppers, and that they ‘stuck together’. Stephanie added that though there were few boys, they ‘weren’t shy’.Anyone Who…Participants sit in a circle. Facilitator calls out a statement and asks anyone to whom this statement applies, to get up and move to a new seat. Participants cannot swap seats with the person beside them – they must move across the circle.Statement: Anyone who…Number of participants who movedCommentsHas ever been in a play?23 / 27Some participants were new to Showstoppers. One girl commented that she had just moved to the area.Has ever been to watch a play?27 / 27Has ever been to see a play in the Bardic?26 / 27These plays were mainly other Showstoppers groups’ performances or touring musicals.Has ever been to see a play in Belfast?12 / 27Those who moved were mainly the Seniors ( ages 12 +), and the plays cited were mainly musicals including ‘Blood Brothers’Has ever been to see a play somewhere that’s neither in the Bardic nor in Belfast?20 / 27One girl cited ‘The Waterfront’, perhaps indicating a lack of comprehension of the statement.Several cited musicals in London’s West End.Does drama at school?9/27The older members.Has been to the theatre with their family?12 / 27Quite low?Gets a lift to Showstoppers?27 / 27Lifts are from family members or child-minders.Walks to Showstoppers0Gets a bus/ taxi to Showstoppers2 (occasionally)2 members occasionally would get a taxiObservationsLevels of theatre attendance are high, and productions attended are predominantly musicals, which perhaps is linked to Showstoppers’ focus on musical theatre practice.Fewer than half of members had been to theatre with their families.Families support members by giving lifts.Whilst there are no organised Showstoppers theatre outings, a large group of senior members explained that they have attended performances together as friends.DominoesThe group were asked to line up in order of the distance they travel to get to the Bardic. The range went from 0.5 miles (1 minute by car) to 17 miles (20 mins by car). Walking debate / This or ThatFacilitator names one side of the room as ‘chocolate’, the other as ‘chips’, and asks participants to move to whichever side they prefer. This method continues using the statements below e.g.: one wall is ‘small town’, the other ‘big city’ etc. If time, the facilitator can assume a Jerry Springer-type role, and ask for a volunteer from each side to try and persuade members of the other side to switch sides. I usually do this by asking each volunteer to give a 60-second ‘pitch’ for their side.StatementNumbers on each sideComments1) Small village or big city?Village: 14City: 9Undecided: 5The ‘village’ side cited the sense of community in a place where everyone knows everyone else, and the peacefulness of the countryside. The ‘city’ side made the argument that there was much more to do in cities, more theatres, and that if you wanted peaceful green spaces you could still find them. This latter argument won over several of the ‘undecided’.2) Love meeting in the Bardic / would prefer to meet somewhere elseLove meeting in the Bardic: 27Somewhere else: 0It became apparent that some participants misunderstood this statement and thought that Molly was asking them whether they loved being in Showstoppers or not. Apparent conflation of Showstoppers with the Bardic.Members cited fun, the chance to play drama games, to rehearse and learn about the stage as advantaged of meeting in the Bardic. There was a strong sense of Showstoppers being “like a family unit”.Molly then asked whether this would be the same if the group were to meet in another venue. The consensus seemed to be that they had to meet in the Bardic, that the Bardic space was an integral part of Showstoppers.3) The Bardic is too far from where I live / the Bardic is close enough to where I liveToo far: 1Close enough: 24Undecided: 2The girl on the ‘too far’ side travels 20 mins to get to the Bardic (her twin sister, who travels the same distance, was on the ‘close enough’ side). She explained that if they get caught in traffic on their way to the Bardic, it can be frustrating.4) I only visit the Bardic to go to Showstoppers / I visit the Bardic for other reasons tooOnly for Showstoppers: 3For other reasons too: 24The three people who only came to the Bardic for Showstoppers were new to the group. The others all attend shows at the Bardic. Molly asked if they ever come to just ‘hang out’ there, and a group of Seniors replied that they had done this once, staying on for an afternoon between shows.5) I’d like to have a job in the theatre or drama world / I don’t want to work in drama or theatreLike to work in theatre: 14Wouldn’t like to: 4Undecided: 9Out of 14 members who said they’d like to work in the theatre, 13 of them want to be performers and 1 hopes to work as a techie/stage manager. Out of the 4 people who don’t want to work in the theatre, 3 weren’t sure what they want to do, and 1 wants to be a vet.Final discussionMolly did not do the art exercise which she had planned; this would have involved asking participants, in groups of 5-6, to draw and label their idea of the ‘Best possible space for Showstoppers’. She did not do it because she had already gleaned that the participants identify Showstoppers strongly with the Bardic theatre space. Instead, Molly brought participants back into a circle. She asked them to imagine that they had just won ?1million. What changes, if any, would they make to the Bardic to make it a better space for Showstoppers?Stephanie cited the unsuitableness of the dressing rooms, and participants agreed. They are too small, ill equipped and were designed with sports ‘changing rooms’ in mind. However, there are already renovations planned for these rooms.A boy commented that the doors backstage are very loud, and said this could be improved. Molly suggested padding, and he agreed with this. The same boy also cited the problems with the venue’s mic system, which had caused problems in previous productions due to technical faults. One particular instance of a mic fault seems to have become a recurring anecdote. A Senior girl suggested that having a ‘quiet room’ would be good: a space where you could go to learn your lines, or focus before going onstage. Molly commented that the newly-established venue The Hub in Cookstown had a quiet room. She asked whether anyone had heard of The Hub, and two participants said they had. One had dropped in ‘to see what it was all about’, and the other had been told about their Friday night youth music gigs. Molly thanked participants for their time, insights and enthusiasm. She promised to consult Stephanie before using any direct quotes or photos in her PLETED QUESTIONNAIRE: THE HUB YOUTH THEATRENote: when I did these activities with Showstoppers in the Bardic, I gave their leader this sheet and asked her to fill in the numbers of children and any comments/things which stood out to her. This research method requires 2 people: 1 to facilitate, the other to document.Anyone Who…Participants sit in a circle. Facilitator calls out a statement and asks anyone to whom this statement applies, to get up and move to a new seat.Statement: Anyone who…Number of participants who movedCommentsHas ever been in a play?28School productions onlyHas ever been to watch a play?28Has ever been to see a play in Cookstown? (You could ask which venue if time)24Some in Burnavon with schoolHas ever been to see a play in Belfast?22Has ever been to see a play somewhere that’s neither in Cookstown nor in Belfast?23Coalisland Craic TheatreOmagh the Strule…Does drama at school?19Has ever been to the theatre with their family?28Christmas mostlyHas ever been to the theatre with their friends?18Gets a lift to the Hub?14Parents drop them offWalks to the Hub?13Gets a bus/ taxi to the Hub?0Walking debateFacilitator names one side of the room as ‘chocolate’, the other as ‘chips’, and asks participants to move to whichever side they prefer. This method continues using the statements below e.g.: one wall is ‘small town’, the other ‘big city’ etc. If time, the facilitator can assume a Jerry Springer-type role, and ask for a volunteer from each side to try and persuade members of the other side to switch sides. I usually do this by asking each volunteer to give a 60-second ‘pitch’ for their side.StatementNumbers on each sideComments1) Small town or big city?28 small town2) Love meeting in the Hub / would prefer to meet somewhere else (if so, where?)Hub 1414 cinema, Disco, Town. 3) The Hub is too far from where I live / the Hub is close enough to where I live20 close8 too far4) I only visit the Hub to go to youth theatre classes / I visit the Hub for other reasons too18 to do drama10 for other classes5) I’d like to have a job in the theatre or drama world / I don’t want to work in drama or theatre22 would work in theatre world.6 wouldn’t consider ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download