CYT as Wolverhampton’s Cultural Provider

In 2016 CYT were succesful in securing a grant from the Postcode Communtiy Trust to deliver creative cultural work in Wolverhampton with young people and the local community between 2016 – 2017.

This project enabled us to:

• To expand our capacity to deliver a larger number and wider range of cultural activity in Wolverhampton.
• Facilitate a step-change in our organisation during a transitional phase of our operation, during which we were due to re-locate to a city centre location and bring all of our operation under one roof and access a new demographic of young people.
• Forge new networks with other cultural organisations and partners located in the city, to create new artistic projects and cultural initiatives for young people.
• Create and deliver a 12 month programme of artistic activity with the community which would be embedded into our core delivery for the future.

Our project was successful in both meeting and exceeding our initial project targets. Some of which are still being developed and some of which have become embedded into our core activity for the future, something we would not have been able to achieve without the Postcode Community Trusts support.

Our project outcomes were:

• 31 new work experience opportunities for young people which include supporting the delivery of our junior/disability workshops, set building, costume and prop design, sound design, administration, marketing, box office.
• 1 new drama outreach apprentice position for an emerging drama facilitator as part of a collaborative project working with Gazebo Theatre in Education Company. The apprentice worked with the project development worker to find community contacts and events which we could tour our performance of ‘Head in the Right Direction’ to.
• 1 local theatre tour of a community performance ‘Head in the Right Direction’ in collaboration with Gazebo Theatre in Education Company. 5 young emerging actors from Central Youth Theatre toured the performance to 5 community venues across the city. The play explored the challenges that parents and families may experience when raising children with mental health issues.
• 1 new additional mid-week junior workshop group, working with children aged 8-12.
• The creation of a youth led Theatre in Education company for emerging artists aged 18-25 called ForeFront Theatre Company consisting of 12 young members.
• 1 drama outreach project that was created and developed by ForeFront in 2017 that is currently being delivered in 9 secondary schools across the country in 2018.
• 2 large scale heritage performances as created and delivered by our ForeFront Theatre in Education company. One project was delivered partnership with Wolverhampton City Council and celebrated Wolverhampton’s visit from Queen Victoria 150 years ago and the second project was created in collaboration with the National Memorial Arboretum, commemorating 100 years since the Battle of the Somme and the local soldiers who fought. Both events totaled audience numbers of 1,400.
• 1 social history/heritage film in which Central Youth Theatre’s members carried out research into the Shot at Dawn Campaign and interviewed the family of the campaign’s leader John Hipkin. This project introduced many young people to intergenerational working for the first time. This film subsequently won an award at the 2017 DIGI awards for Best Innovative Practice.
• 1 new film called Jake’s Story exploring the life of a young boy growing up in Wolverhampton and experiencing mental health issues.
• 1 outreach drama group established called Acting Up. Acting Up works with disabled young people aged between 10-18 years. Since establishing the group we have secured additional grant funding to stage a full production in 2018.
• 1 young leaders training programme delivered for CYT’s members aged 15+ to learn skills in workshop facilitation and implement these through volunteering during CYT’s drama workshops.
• 4 community events working with local people, including hosting the city’s carol concert which worked with 4 local choirs and 3 primary schools, a fundraising murder mystery event staged with the help of a local Rotary club and 2 flashmob performances in collaboration with the Mayor of Wolverhampton and the Sandwell NHS Trust.
• 1 anti-bullying outreach workshop delivered in collaboration with the ‘B Safe’ youth steering team, working with 5 primary schools and 4 secondary schools.

This funding enabled us to expand our provision of activity for young people in Wolverhampton, it helped us build, develop and sustain our relationships with new community partners and secure additional funding. This project has also increased the profile of the youth theatre as a cultural provider in the city. We have worked closely with the wider community, developing multiple projects with a wider demographic of the local public, encouraging more positive community cohesion and understanding of young people in the city.