Festivals and Diversity

Dr Steve Ball gives his views on the role of festivals in developing the Theatre for Young Audiences field. 

Dr Steve Ball, the Associate Director for The Birmingham Repertory Theatre (UK), facilitated a session on the first day of the Producers’ Bazaar at ASSITEJ’s Cradle of Creativity. He asked attendees to consider: How can festivals support the professional development of artists, increase cultural diversity, raise the profile of theatre for young audiences and act as a catalyst for change?

In the following audio excerpt (8 minutes), he speaks about his research in the UK and a project to encourage inclusion and diversity in Theatre for Young Audiences:

Tegan is a strong advocate for the development of Theatre and the Arts in community settings and has been involved with numerous Applied Theatre programmes throughout her professional training and experience. Tegan graduated with a Master of Arts with Distinction in Applied Theatre from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has professional experience in Community Performance that promotes Young People’s expression and engagement through Puppetry and Theatre practices. As well as collaborating and performing with ERTH Visual & Physical Inc and Welsh theatre company PuppetSoup, she has co-directed and worked alongside Shop Front Arts Co-Op Junior Ensemble of 8-14-year old’s to create the original devised production, The Unknown. Tegan is currently working as Teaching Artist for Sydney Theatre Company’s ‘School Drama’. This is a Teachers Professional Development Program designed to improve teaching and learning by modelling the use of drama-based strategies with quality children's literature.