Here we’d have a profile of the sector in the country. I’ve used the notes from our mapping meeting for now, but we could each write up something more specific.
One Line:
Youth theatre is a genre within the performing arts, which, due to its form and content, can only be performed by young people.
One Paragraph:
Youth theatre is a genre within the performing arts, which, due to its form and content, can only be performed by young people. YT is hard to criticise using the same criteria as the rest of the field. Not that there is no distinction between good or bad quality, it means that the impact of the activity goes way beyond the aspect of performance.
Background:
- As a well-resourced country and the government has prioritised arts access since 1950’s. when Music Schools were established across the country. In 1960’s these became culture school including visual art and in in 1970’s drama was added.
- Only recently have professional artists began working with young people. As such the YT sector is very much based around school systems.
- Only 3 theatres that have education departments and there are around 20 people working fulltime as professional YT makers.
- Others work part time or through the education sector. So, professionalising of the sector has been much slower than other countries.
- In the early 2000’s Rogaland began more international partnerships, attended NT Connections Festival. In a collaboration with Lyceum Youth Theatre playwright Jon Fosse came to the performance (who famously did not want to attend performances) which really elevated the work, and set off idea of YP working with professional writers.
- Challenge to increase the artistic quality of work, YT sector currently less high quality. There is not so much tradition of young people creating, and more progress still to be made in this area.
- Whilst the sector is well funded, more training is required for youth workers to improve their artistic knowledge. Here challenge is ability rather than funding/resource.
