Storyhouse is offering young people in Chester brilliant opportunities to take part in creative challenges and experiences this autumn, with several of its programmes looking to recruit new members during September.
Since the Hunter Street cultural venue opened seven years ago, its Young Storyhouse initiative has harnessed the power of arts and creativity to support hundreds of young people to connect, create, develop skills and build confidence.
The range of groups and activities organised under the Young Storyhouse umbrella extends from a youth theatre for five-year-olds to programmes for young adults up to the age of 25.
Both its Young Leaders and Young Programmers groups are now inviting new members to join, along with a creative entrepreneurship programme The Agency to help young people in the Lache area of the city to harness the arts to make real change in their communities.
In addition, Storyhouse’s Youth Theatre is also welcoming budding young actors.
Young Leaders is a free programme for young people aged 14 to 25 who may need extra support to connect with others, discover their passion, and develop work skills and knowledge of the creative industry. Participants are usually referred by a professional organisation, teacher or a parent, but young people can also self-refer if they believe they could benefit from the programme.
Members meet weekly and receive mentoring, training and practical opportunities as well as exploring all the different roles and teams at Storyhouse, with the aim of helping them develop, create and grow both professionally and personally.
The new programme will run from September to January and there are opportunities to join the Young Leaders’ groups for 14 to 17-year-olds and 18 to 25-year-olds. There is also a 10-month programme, Young Leaders Plus, which starts in October and is designed for young people aged 14 to 25 who would benefit from a longer-term intervention.
The Storyhouse programme team creates and chooses the theatre, music, dance and film events that take place at the venue, and members of the Storyhouse Young Programmers – a free weekly course open to 14 to 25-year-olds – get the chance to create their own events including film screenings, open mic nights and building takeovers as well as digital events.
The programme is open to young people who are interested in gaining hands-on experience in curation, event management, arts administration and marketing.
It culminates in its Young Programmers curating a strand of the programme for the Chester International Film Festival. A number of previous participants have gone on to find employment as a result of their time on the course.
Meanwhile The Agency initiative is a 12-week project during which a group of young people from Lache are given a chance to make a mark on their community with support to develop their own ideas which they then pitch to a panel. Three of the projects are picked to receive £2,000 funding, along with extra assistance, to help them become a reality.
Previous successful pitches include Wise Connections, a project to address young people’s loneliness in Lache; Don’t Tell Me to Calm Down which explores female rage in a safe space, and Constructing Connections, a robot-building exercise which is aimed at inspiring the next generation in Lache towards a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
The Agency programme gives participants, known as Agents, the chance to develop skills in project management, networking, creative problem solving and presentation.
And Storyhouse Youth Theatre is aimed at five to 17-year-olds who are interested in seeing, making and performing theatre. No previous experience is required, but enthusiasm and energy are a must.
The Youth Theatre starts again in September with three 12-week terms and each age group – aged five to seven, eight to 10, 11 to 13 and 14 to 17 – meets weekly at workshops in the Studio by Storyhouse which are guided by professionals who help youngsters develop theatre skills and build confidence.
In addition, Youth Theatre members enjoy exciting opportunities including performances, trips and summer workshops.
The cost is £45 per youngster for 11 months’ membership , while there are a limited number of free and reduced-price places available for low-income families in genuine need of support.
Storyhouse Creative Director Suzie Henderson says:
Young people are at the heart of the Storyhouse family and our work as a charity, since we first opened our doors in 2017, we’ve worked with hundreds of fantastically talented young individuals who have enlivened Storyhouse’s spaces with their energy, enthusiasm and creativity.
So I’m delighted to launch a new round of opportunities for Chester’s young creatives – whether they be performers, programmers, leaders or community innovators; it’s going to be exciting to welcome them into Storyhouse. Our ethos has always been ‘this house is your house’ and that’s true whether you’re five or 95.
It will also be the second year we’ve worked with The Agency and young people in Lache and that collaboration has already produced some brilliant and inspiring grassroots initiatives, so I can’t wait to see what a new cohort of Agents can achieve.
For more details on all the current opportunities available for young people, visit www.storyhouse.com/young-storyhouse
ENDS
For more information, contact:
Nancy Davies
Marketing and PR Manager
Storyhouse
07886 743531
About Storyhouse
Storyhouse is one of the UK’s foremost cultural centres incorporating a library, theatres and a cinema. It is one of the country’s most successful arts buildings, with more than one million customer visits each year.
The pioneering new library within Storyhouse, where members of the community work alongside city librarians, boasts the longest opening hours of any UK public library and is open every day until 11pm. It runs over 2,000 sessions a year for marginalised communities
The company also runs a highly successful theatre company and the country’s most successful regional open-air theatre, in the city’s Grosvenor Park and Moonlight Flicks open air cinema.