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National Youth Theatre: What do young people get from taking part? | National Youth Theatre 2009/ 2010
2011-04-05

National Youth Theatre: What do young people get from taking part?

What do young people get from taking part?

Over the years, NAYD has gathered a wealth of stories and anecdotes describing the benefits of NYT participation for youth theatre members. Young people tell us about what they have learned about creating theatre, about themselves, about working as part of a team and getting on with other people.

Through NYT, NAYD provides an opportunity for youth theatre members:

� To rehearse and perform as a National Youth Theatre Company

� To work creatively and collaboratively to achieve a shared objective

� To explore a production process from casting to performance

� To work with a professional production team and perform on the Peacock stage

� To develop their skills as actors

� To explore ideas of form, style and characterisation through the NYT play

� To develop their appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of creating theatre

� To work and socialise with young people from different backgrounds and areas of the country

� To develop positive social skills and personal qualities

Participants come from a huge variety of backgrounds and this will invariably influence the outcomes of their participation in the National Youth Theatre. Looking at the cast of 2007:

� 20 young people from 10 different youth theatres and 8 different counties took part in the project.

� The youngest cast member was 16 and the oldest was 21.

� 10 of the final cast described their background as rural, 3 said they came from a small town and 7 described their background as suburban.

� 15 of the final cast came from a family of 3 or more children.

� 1 young person had already left home, the remainder lived at home with all or some of their family. 6 young people came from a family background where their parents were separated or divorced.

� All of the cast members who were aged 18 and under were still at school, had passed their Junior Cert and intended to do their Leaving Cert.

� Of the young people who were aged over 18, all were studying at a local university or college on a full-time or part-time basis or were completing an evening course.

� 2 young people did not work, the work that the remaining 18 young people were involved in, ranged from occasional work for their family to regular part-time work.

� At the beginning of the project the young people were considering a number of different jobs or work areas for the future, including acting, theatre, the arts in general, sports, science, education, business and health.

� The 20 cast members had worked up 60 years of youth theatre experience between them. On average, a cast member had been part of their youth theatre for 3 years.

In 2007, NAYD staff undertook some research to explore how this project impacts on the lives of these young people and to clarify the specific artistic and social skills as well as personal qualities that are developed as a result of participation. The cast members of NYT 2007 were interviewed on a weekly basis and completed skills development sheets and questionnaires.

This research process produced a wealth of information about each cast member and their journey through the project. Below is an example of one young person�s learning outcomes. Each chart includes a rating that the young person gave himself at the beginning and the end of the project and also a rating that the combined welfare and artistic teams gave him at the beginning and end of the project.