Performingarts in the Community In this report I will compare and contrastCommunity Theatre near me, I will also discuss their contributions to theirlocal area. Thefirst group I shall discuss is Bakewell Youth Theatre otherwise known as BYT, they are a group of teens aged eleven to eighteen that are ‘ all engaging, articulate and enthusiastic aboutthe work they were doing’ (Paul Morgans 2013). They do several performances ayear most are with the purpose of enjoyment such as their most recentproduction of fame. The group welcome anyone within the age ranges, as theybelieve everyone should get the equal opportunity to become involved with thearts, much like Joan Littlewood. Although the weekly classes aren’t free, theyare only £2 a session or £10 a term (as of 2016), such low prices are due tothe local funding from the council and as some more disadvantaged students maynot be able to afford this they are given the opportunity for a lower price.
Thetarget audience is mostly the performers family and friends (from the localschool), as well as people from the small town at each performance they do aprize draw which, along with the tickets helps raise money for charities suchas Bluebell Wood Hospice. Thecompany also helps keep gives the local teens a distraction from their possiblystressful lives once a week, giving them a safe space for them to talk to otherpeople who share their love for the arts. Theirmost recent performance of Fame was held at the Medway Centre, which is easilyaccessible to all, this performance fulfilled its purpose to entertain andpromote the arts towards the audience. Fame the musical explores students of aperforming school in New York who are using performance as a way of discoveringtheir identity much like the students of BYT, I believe that these themes areused to change the way that audience thinks about performing arts.
AlthoughBakewell Youth Theatre raises money for large chain charities The Hathersageplayers (located in Hathersage) use the money they raise with the tickets andgive it to local businesses. They are a performance company for all ages, theyput on three shows a year (plays in October and May, and a big pantomime everyFebruary. Their latest upcoming show Nell Gwynn, (set it the past) it is aboutcasting a woman actor in a patriarchal society – “ they’ve disgraced our trade, ruined our art – they’ve put a woman on the stage!”(Nell Gwynn poster byHathersage Players) by focusing on the issue of sexism it teaches the localcommunity about the past and like Augusto Boal’s Theatre of Oppression itforces the audience to want to change it. The production is a comedy aimed atteens and older; it also helps to promote social and cultural diversity withinthe local community.
Asthese performances are widely popular in the local village they often raisemore money than anticipated which these extra donations they contribute toother causes for example a few years ago the money they raised helped a fewpeople to go to their school prom. “ ThePomegranate Youth Theatre offers weekly drama workshops that are available toall regardless of their ethnic or social background at a low cost.”(P using theethics of Joan Littlewood allowing anyone to have an opportunity to getinvolved in the arts. They are a group of amateur performers; their most recentperformance of ‘ Animal farm’ is a satire (a comedic way of presentingpolitical, economic or social views that are sometimes controversial). It is aboutthe equality between several farm animals, saying:’All Animals Are Equal but Some Are More EqualThan Others’, the animalsrepresenting genuine people.
On the youth theatres website when talking abouttheir thoughts on this production they explained how they explored this piecesrelevance today through physical theatre. It battles the issues of equality andmuch like the Boal’s idea of Theatre of Oppression it show us as an audiencethe worst possible scenario making us want to change the outcome, although theydid not use audience participation and getting them up on stage it does leavethe audience wanting a change. As a satire it does use of Joan’s techniques ofmaking the audience laugh at something then moments later they question whetherit was right to laugh, this then in effect forces the audience to questiontheir own moral compasses.
The performance will be held at thePomegranate theatre near to the centre of the town of Chesterfield. They alsoperform at festivals to promote their local community and the performing artsthemselves. The classes are for all standards of performers the weekly sessionsgive people a safe place to be and grow as individuals for a small price. Themoney they raise from the yearly performances goes to funding their company aswell as contributing to other surrounding theatres, unlike BYT and HathersagePlayers which contribute to charities both local and chain.
Within the timebefore each performance the marketing team places posters around town to get asmany people interested as possible. This productions target audience isfor the more mature audience such as teenagers and older, as it lots ofsomewhat controversial moments, but also promotes the idea of equality to theaudience, which may help in the future with cultural diversity and acceptance. Thispiece explores the negativity of equality by showing how inequality corruptsand destroys individuals and societies. In conclusion I believe that I haveexplained different types of Community Theatre and how they contribute to theirlocal community, through charity work and society as a whole with moralmessages and promoting the arts.