New Vic Borderlines is getting set to launch a brand new musical theatre project for disadvantaged young people with the support of a major Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation grant.
Following a £50,000 award from the Foundation, Borderlines will seek to champion diversity and break down barriers between the arts and disadvantaged young people in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.
Weekly sessions with around 50 10 to 16 year olds drawn from schools and colleges across the area will begin in October and will see participants work with professional artists in drama, music and backstage workshops to create a piece of newly written musical theatre which will then take to the New Vic stage next year.
Susan Moffat, Director of New Vic Borderlines, said: “This is an exciting new opportunity for Borderlines, giving young people the chance to tell their own stories in their own words.
“The young people involved will be taking their piece of work from script to stage as performers and in various backstage roles, including stage management, sound and lighting, writing, designing and marketing. We can’t wait to get started!”
The New Vic works with more than 15,000 young people every year through its Education department and community outreach team, Borderlines.
Launched in 1992 to promote the arts, culture and heritage for public benefit, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation awarded grants worth nearly £700,000 to 28 projects, including the New Vic’s project, across the UK and internationally late last year.
Championing the breaking down of barriers to engagement in the arts, many of the organisations rewarded will use their grant to specifically engage young people and those from hard to reach and minority backgrounds. The Foundation’s active grant giving programme has awarded more than £18 million since 2010 to support the enhancement of arts education, participation and increasing diversity across the industry.
To express interest in being involved in the project contact Adhia Mahmood on 01782 381368 or email amahmood@newvictheatre.org.uk.