In this blog, Carys Williams, Outreach Producer at Lewisham Youth Theatre, discusses a recent Bronze Arts Award programme, which she was an adviser for, that encouraged young people to use video footage as their primary evidencing format. The moderator described Carys as ‘a role model for using video evidence as the main reflective tool’, with videos that were ‘short and to the point, clearly addressing the evidence criteria for each part, and very easy to access and moderate'. Read on for top tips on how to successfully video evidence for your Arts Award delivery, and for an overview of their project.
At Lewisham Youth Theatre (LYT), we aim to inspire young people’s voices through free participatory theatre activities and help them to develop enduring and transferable skills that lead to improved life chances and long-term well-being. LYT began delivering Arts Award in 2010. Since then, we have delivered Bronze, Silver and this year we are excited to deliver our very first Gold Arts Award!
Last year we took 10 young people aged 11-15 from our Junior Youth Theatre Acting Company (JYT2) through their Bronze Arts Award. The JYT2 is a progression for those who have already taken part in a performance at LYT. Each group is led by two experienced theatre workshop tutors and a team of volunteer assistants to rehearse and perform a production with full set, props and costumes in LYT’s new creative hub on Lewisham High Street. For this project, they performed the play Parched Lands by Pia Ashberry, adapted by LYT Artistic Director Helen Stanley and the Junior Youth Theatre Acting Company. The play explores young people’s mental health, isolation, and fears about climate change.
Our programme ran for two months between June - August. We ran eight bi-monthly group sessions (each 2 hours), one session was used to introduce each section of Arts Award and the other for the presentation of the participants' independent work. We offered 1:1 mentoring and support in between these sessions through hosting a drop-in session once a week. This meant participants had full access to our laptops and space to complete their independent work, limiting any potential barriers and ensuring we were inclusive and accessible in our approach.
Film was an important aspect of our Arts Award delivery. For each Part of Arts Award we recorded the participants sharing their work with the group. This meant we had video evidence as well as the physical evidence of the work they created. To reflect on the participants’ journey in their chosen art form (part A), we ran weekly 15-minute debriefs with each young person at the end of their drama or technical theatre workshop. This allowed them to discuss activities they had participated in and reflect on the strengths and challenges of the session.
Watch Bruno and Ana delivering their Part D together.
We initially used written diary entries but found this often limited the young people’s creativity and the best and most honest answers often came through discussion. We therefore decided to video record all reflections during our Arts Award delivery on our company phone. Not only did this save time, it also helped the participants to more clearly recognise their development and was useful for reflecting on their personal progress. It also enabled them to put the communication and performance skills they were developing in their chosen art form into regular practice! Through our focus on video footage throughout Arts Award, we are able to embed the evidence into our delivery. This was useful as it meant we didn't have to worry about chasing it up or adding it to the participant journals later down the line. Keeping digital diary logs was the most efficient format to enable us to keep them up to date and easily navigate and structure.
By taking part in Arts Award, participants got a real sense of pride and achievement and were able to reflect and look at their chosen art form with a more critical eye. I could see a real development in their use of language and understanding when reflecting on their journey, and gradually they needed less and less guidance when answering questions or evaluating their work.
‘Things that I have learnt this year are expressing myself, speaking louder and clearer but also leadership skills.’
Ana (Arts Award Participant)
Elevating youth voice is a key aspect of LYT's work. Being able to lead their own workshop gave participants an authentic sense of ownership and allowed them to see themselves as leaders. Many of the participants from last year are excited to do Silver this year and further develop their creative voice. Since taking part in Arts Award, one of our participants has taken on the role of Head Girl at their school and another is campaigning for the position of Lewisham Young Mayor – transferring the skills they developed through Arts Award to gain opportunities outside of LYT!
You can find out more about LYT and the work we do on our website, or through our social media accounts - @LewYouTheatre on Instagram and Twitter.