‘Our future workforce is a vital part of keeping our industry strong and healthy – and yet so few people know about the majority of the workforce: the engineers, the computer programmers, the technicians, the lawyers, the HR experts, the finance managers.’
As the senior audience development manager at Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, Harriet Usher is someone who loves to make stories for a living, and then share those stories with others. She has worked in the industry for a long time, and is eager to press the point that it is a generous world. ‘It is a place I've always felt I've belonged,’ she says. ‘Making stories and coming together as a community … what's more important than–that?’
Students first
In this vein, and as a reaction to declining arts funding, the Inspiring Future Theatre Initiative was set up in July 2018, and since then it has been doing exactly that: inspiring the future workforce of the theatre.
‘It was set up as a response to the reduction of theatre visits among school-aged students,’ she says. ‘That “wow” moment of magic is something we all remember from the first time we saw live theatre, but it's happening less frequently. So we thought: why not take part of the theatre to them?’
IFT partnered with the charity Education and Employers, which is dedicated to bringing careers into schools and increasing the range of opportunities available for young people. The core of what the initiative does is bring volunteers – over 1,200 at time of writing – from all walks of theatre life into schools, to talk to students. This can range from assemblies to career fairs and panel discussions, and anything in between – and the volunteers themselves can put themselves forward as far along in their careers as they–like.
‘We've reached over 51,000 young people through visits so far,’ Usher says. ‘Theatre and live performance is a shared experience, and that makes it a very generous industry to work in,’ referring to the fact that these are volunteers, keen to spread the word to young people about the plethora of opportunities available to them in theatre, beyond acting.
© JAMES BOYER SMITH
Volunteers at TheatreCraft 2019
As most Drama teachers will know, it can sometimes be the parent of a student interested in theatre who doesn't understand the scope of careers within theatre. Usher says: ‘We have resources for the programme that explain more about those careers, which students can bring home – and we are present at plenty of fairs to which parents are invited: Big Bang Birmingham in March and Skills London in November.’
Bringing the community together
When it launched in 2018, IFT presented the perfect opportunity to create events in the 12 government areas prioritised for social mobility and cultural development. ‘We paired schools with theatres to create bespoke events with theatre professionals, seeing the theatres work together with schools for the first time. This is a key part of the legacy: building and strengthening connections between theatres and schools.’
These kick-off flagship events saw students from St Albert's Primary School in Glasgow attend a morning of activities at Tramway, hosted by the Citizens Theatre; Theatre Royal Norwich hosted 45 Year 5 students for an afternoon of workshops, chats and a backstage tour; the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff invited 30 Year 3 students to join them for a morning of activities – and these are just three of 12 examples of students receiving essential exposure to theatre. ‘Creativity is great for mental health and social development – who'd have thought?’ Usher says, laughing.
Since then, IFT has also been running an annual #InspiringFutureTheatre day, which is a celebration of the work theatres do to showcase their job opportunities to young people. This year, it was held on 3 July in London. ‘It provided students with the chance to engage directly with theatre professions that are based in West End theatres – and 11 West End theatres took part. 500 students from Westminster were able to experience unique sessions in those theatres, and after that, they saw shortened versions of two leading West End shows, building their cultural capital alongside their career aspirations. The day was attended by Jeremy Wright, then the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.’
As well as ensuring the future health of the theatre workforce, Usher and her team are dedicated to improving access to the arts. ‘You don't need to be a starring performer. You can be employed, with a contract and rights and career progression! To an 11 year-old, a big red velvet-clad West End theatre can feel wholly inaccessible. And this is why we're here: to break down those barriers.’
To learn more about the initiative, visit: www.tinyurl.com/inspiring-future-theatre. To sign up as an ambassador or school, go to: www.solt.co.uk/what-we-do/inspiringfuturetheatre