Susan Elkin pays a visit to Half Moon Theatre to learn how they are enthusing pupils to look at possible careers in the theatre
Half Moon Young People’s Theatre in Limehouse has been quietly providing productions and training for children and young people since 1972. That’s 44 years and yet there are still people who don’t seem to think beyond Unicorn and Polka theatres when it comes to dedicated venues for children in London.
Housed in a former town hall in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets – and recently refurbished so that it looks as smart and businesslike as it is – Half Moon Theatre is a very busy place. There are, for example 38 performances by 15 different companies in the thirteen weeks from this month to April. The building includes a fine studio-style performance space and, since the refurbishment, lots of workshops and teaching spaces especially in the “undercroft” or basement.
I was there recently to sit in on part of the company’s annual project: Careers in Theatre. Yes, we need to make enthusiastic teenagers aware that there are lots of jobs in theatre apart from performing on stage and this is Half Moon’s contribution to an aspect of careers education which gets nothing like enough attention.
Secondary school pupils – 65 of them on this occasion – spend a day working in groups on a piece of script from the point of view of design, music, directing, marketing and so on. And these sessions are led by top notch industry professionals such as actor Sapphire Joy, who has recently been appearing at National Theatre in Imogen. Then the students come together in the afternoon to pool their ideas and develop them into a single piece of draft collaborative work. The extract on the day I attended was from Flourish by David Lane. This is a play commissioned by Half Moon and it will be professionally staged there so it is possible that some of these young people may eventually see some of their ideas incorporated into the show.
“We believe very strongly in consultation” says Half Moon director/CEO, Chris Elwell. “Our playwrights almost always develop their ideas by working with local young people. Language, for example, is often changed. Consultation has to be real. We give young people a respected voice and never ignore them.”
“There are far too few projects of this sort” says Fran Cervi, Head of Drama at nearby Sir John Cass Red Coat School who has brought a Year 10 group. “As a result of spending time here at Half Moon and learning how theatre works, some of them will then choose some aspect of technical theatre for their work experience” she adds.
“That’s right” agrees Kev Eastwood, acting head of drama at Bishop Challoner School who also has a group here today. “The people here at Half Moon know exactly what they’re doing. In the autumn term the day the students do is more generic. If they’re keen they can come and do something more focused in the spring and then there’s work experience in the summer for those who are seriously interested.”
Most of the participating schools over the six available days are from Tower Hamlets schools with one or two from neighbouring boroughs. “One of the things they really love is mixing with students from other schools” says Chris adding that the project, which is annual, has evolved and changed over the 15 years or so it’s been running. “It’s certainly got slicker” agrees Fran.
“This project isn’t just about working in theatre, though” says Kev. “Some of our students live with very high levels of deprivation and this day pushes them just out of their comfort zone which is very good for them. It teaches life skills as well as theatrical ones and we often see an improvement in behaviour back at school afterwards.”
So what do the students think? “I’m interested in collaboration and beginning to think about a career in stage management” says Nigella. “I want to be an actor and this day is very good for building confidence” adds Georgia who has discovered Half Moon for the first time today and says she’ll certainly be back. “I’m a bit timid” says Tasnim who’d chosen to be in the design group. “But I’m so glad I came. It’s such fun to be creative!”
Obed loves acting and is thinking about applying to drama school one day. “I’ve done school plays and youth theatre at Stratford East but you don’t see the whole process of getting a play from page to stage that way” he says. “This day has been a real eye opener. I’ve only been to Half Moon once before when I was in Year 2 but I’ll probably be back now.”
The next round of Careers in Theatre days will take place in autumn 2017. www.halfmoon.org.uk