young people's programmes

PLAY IN A WEEK
​August 2017  + AUGUST 2018

We've been partnering with Spotlight for almost two years, working with young people in their centres across East London to deliver an extensive range of creative projects for free, open to 11-19 year olds who live in the area. 

We lead weekly term-time workshops and half-term courses, varying from drop-in sessions to intensive devising productions, and in Summer 2017 we somehow managed to put together a rather brilliant Play in a Week. 

Led by our Participation Manager David Gilbert and performance poet Ruth Sutoye, the duo worked intensively with a group of sixteen young people to develop a 20-minute piece based off of nothing but the creative ideas of the young participants. We believe in giving young people the autonomy to create without limitations (within reason), and this project encapsulated this ethos perfectly – the end result was a fusion of physical theatre, dark comedy, improvisation and performance poetry. Check out the video below to get an insight into the process...

HARINGEY SHED +
​haringey sixth form centre
April-june 2015

​Our first ever inclusive performing arts workshop took place at Haringey Shed on in April 2015 alongside PACIFY cast members Korey and Eva. 

Haringey Shed is an inclusive theatre company based in north London who share our beliefs that theatre is an art form in which everyone has a part to play. The S+K Team led a session with young people of all abilities and backgrounds from 11-18 years old, leading games, activities and devising creative scenes together. 

The workshops that followed were delivered in June 2015 at Haringey Sixth Form Centre to an ambitious bunch of students in their theatre. Organised by students studying the business course, the aim of their event was to tackle racism and The S+K Project were invited to lead workshops on the theme.

LIFT TOTTENHAM ARTIST HANGOUT
june 2017 + august 2018​

"S+K HAVE An innate ability to instantly connect with and engage participants.

In THEIR sessions, students feel confident enough to take risks and step out of their comfort zones because TheY create a safe environment for them to do so.

Thereby facilitating them to make change and learn whether on an academic and/or personal level." 
AMANDA WRIGHT, DIRECTOR
ARTS BRIDGE CHARITY

WORKSHOPS

LET'S BE HEARD 
August 2016

Over the first two weeks of August 2016 we worked with young people between 11-19 years old with a passion for performing arts to be apart of our two week summer workshop programme devising material for a performance on the 12th August.

We created a short play from scratch our three to four hour long sessions, combining skills and conventional drama techniques with personal experiences to form a narrative. Through discussing topics that young people face day to day and exploring these themes creatively we generated material to create an insightful and thought-provoking show. 

We believe that it's vital that young people have their opinions voiced at all times and we continuously aim to be a platform for them - and other voices often silenced in society - to be heard. Let's Be Heard vocalised our mission perfectly, as we feel that we have bridged another gap to further make the arts for everyone.

DECONSTRUCTING BLACKNESS
October 2015 

​As a part of our Deconstructing Blackness season, The S+K Team gave talks in assemblies in local secondary schools in North London for our contribution to Black History Month. We spoke on the issues surrounding the concept of Black History Month - why it's not enough for black history to be restricted to a month, how we speak about our identity today and the significance of appreciating the nuances in blackness. We also featured performances from students based on these themes.

At the end of the month, we led a workshop with a group of 14-18 year olds from Tottenham focusing on the theme. Over the course of three hours, they discussed and expressed the themes of culture, identity and being black in Britain through the mediums of spoken word and written poetry and rap. Through a series of engaging and thought-provoking sessions we took apart the idea of black history and black history month and see how it can be applied in a modern context, using art as a means of expressing ourselves. The young people wrote several pieces of poetry and raps individually, even those who had never written before!

​

"s+k led our summer project in 2015...They delivered a very measured two weeks.

​The project was well thought out and well planned. They had a strong idea and successfully took their idea and transferred it to the stage in a way that was accessible for our inclusive group. They were very passionate and showed maturity for people who very much were on the outset of their careers.” 
EDDIE LATTER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
HARINGEY SHED
​

The Incredible Tale of Mwindow, August 2015

WINDRUSH TIME CAPSULE
AUGUST-OCTOBER 2018

The S+K Project worked in collaboration wth Decolonising the Archive (DTA) on the research & development of upcoming production Windrush Time Capsule. Jointly led by DTA's Connie Belle and S+K's former Participation Manager David Gilbert, the participatory project examines life for a family of generational immigrants who are forced to leave what they have made their home. The production was devised initially in light of the UK Government's "hostile environment" policy that came under severe scrutiny early in 2018. 

Now, with support from Arts Council England, DTA will enter a second stage of exploration to further develop elements of the production. Keep up with the production as it progresses in 2019 by signing up to the DTA mailing list.