Play the Part Youth Performing Arts Advocates

Creating acceptance of youth voices in times of change

Our youth led performing arts project focused on creating an online space to inspire, normalise and create acceptance of youth voices in times of change. The project aims to inspire local youth action and help young people deal with the social and emotional issues they are experiencing relating to COVID-19. 

We aim to partner disengaged young people (13-16) from a number of local schools with high quality performing arts practitioners to devise theatre from their own experiences and empower their collective voice. The project advocates will ensure arts and culture remain essential to the continuing personal development of other young people and so create a vibrant, mindful, forward-looking community. This is achieved through youth led arts advocacy in schools and peer created online education. Participants will get safe opportunities to meet up online with likeminded young aspiring performing artists across the area to promote and actively create relevant and educational content. 

We will be joint working with young people 13-16 who have missed out on much of school life this year due to COVID-19, and who feel disincentivised about their future because of uncertainty. We want to give them opportunities ‘explore, express and educate’ others around these feelings. Young people will participate in practical theatrical workshops online to develop themselves, inform their opinions and become the voice of change for other young people through online performing arts activities and video productions. They will then create their own online media that acts as a force for positivity for other young people. We will explore alternative solutions to problems and barriers to finding expression through role-play, spoken word, visual art and discussion and support young people to reflect on their own personal challenges in a safe way.

Please visit the project website here ⇒