A bright future

When this most recent lockdown was announced, it seemed like it was the toughest one, and we sat down as a team and said: “We've got to do something!”’ Alexander Ferris, director of creative engagement at Leeds Playhouse, tells me.

Now in its second year, Young Leaders is just one part of Leeds Playhouse's impressive Creative Engagement programme, Playhouse Connect, and shows a proactive and forward-looking commitment to innovating opportunities for young people in the arts.

This is a free course for 18- to 25-year-olds to train and become the next generation of arts facilitators and producers. It is a welcome initiative sitting in the notoriously difficult post-training or early career stage for young creatives; when it is hard to get a foot in the door, find a network, and build a portfolio.

‘Cultural quarter’

This time round, Playhouse Connect looks better than ever, with the addition of partners, and promises to link young people on the programme with local arts organisations – such as Chapel FM, DAZL, Geraldine Connor Foundation, Mind the Gap, Leeds Libraries, Studio 12, and more – to act as mentors, workshop leaders, and inspiration.

It seems like a further embodiment of the idea of a city ‘cultural quarter’ too, with Leeds City College Creative campus, Leeds Conservatoire, Northern Ballet, Phoenix Dance, the BBC, and the Playhouse itself, all sitting together in the same square quarter mile.

So, the young people on this programme will certainly get to know lots of industry professionals who are working in Leeds and beyond: ‘Giving young people help with that “momentary spark” when starting out on a career in the arts’, Alexander says, when I ask him about the driving idea behind the project.

Real-world experience

The structure consists of monthly training sessions and monthly social sessions, and culminates in the young leaders planning and delivering their own arts project. There is also the option to complete a Gold Arts Award for those who want to, and even gain some work experience with the theatre or one of the partner organisations.

The learning appears comprehensive, covering creative skills, leadership skills, and project management through training in planning and delivering workshops and events, setting up as an artist, safeguarding, career development and working with communities and practitioners.

Future creatives

I was lucky enough to be invited to last year's Playhouse Young Leaders ‘Meet the Freelancers’ session and was quizzed by a cohort that included musicians, actors, writers, and more, about my journey in the arts. I was really impressed by the diversity of the ideas as well as the diversity of the group.

This dynamic of different art forms seemed to really help when it came to final projects. In the programme the young leaders have the opportunity to work as small companies to lead engagement projects, such as workshop series, small-scale community events or a digital engagement. Last year's projects saw the young leaders plan, lead and facilitate the opening events for the theatre after its redevelopment – the idea being that this is the first step for Leeds’ next creative practitioners.

Success stories

And it works; some of last year's cohort are already employed as support workers at the theatre, and one has undertaken a PGCE and now has a job teaching.

This year there were 50 applications, whittled down to 12, and they will work from February to December – it will be genuinely exciting to see what they produce, and certainly something to look forward in these difficult times.

Although theatres may be dark, the future might yet be bright.

For more information and a detailed description of the course, visit: leedsplayhouse.org.uk