Brent Youth Theatre - Poppy Conway

Today we are speaking with Poppy Conway, a current student on the Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (DATE), BA course about her work with Brent Youth Theatre.

What are you currently working on?

I have been working as an assistant facilitator for Brent Youth Theatre over the summer, helping the young people of the Youth Theatre create and prepare for a physical theatre and spoken word performance outside Wembley Stadium on the theme of ‘dreams’.

The performance was in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra who played original music for the performance, Mahogany Carnival Arts who provided incredible carnival costumes and life-sized puppets, and finally the St Michael and All Angels Steel Pan Band who also played original music. This was all part of an outreach project lead by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, aimed at celebrating the culture of the borough of Brent.

How did you get involved with Brent Youth Theatre?

I’ve been working for Brent Youth Theatre for the past two years, so this project was their summer holiday project for this year. I initially found out about the youth theatre because the artistic director and lead facilitator is an alumni of the Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (DATE), BA course - Natalyia Kharina and other alumni and current students also work for the youth theatre.

What did you do as a part of this role?

We were working with young people aged 7 to 18, some of them being part of the regular term time youth theatre, and facilitating classes for two weeks in late August. In this time we brainstormed characters, emotions and words to do with the theme of dreams, alongside the original music composed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO). This then turned into the speech of the piece, which was then recorded and played throughout the performance.

We also had percussion workshops with the RPO and carnival costume workshops with Mahogany Carnival Arts where the young people made their own headpieces, which they eventually wore in the performance. Finally we created/devised and rehearsed the movement for the piece, which was especially important as it involved walking down steps alongside Wembley Stadium. In September we had a couple of rehearsals as a whole company, and then the final three performances on Saturday, 11 of September.

How is this project related to your coursework?

In Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (DATE) there’s quite a big focus on facilitating, and one aspect of this is working with young people, so this project was really good practical experience, allowing me to put theoretical learning into practice, developing my skills as a drama facilitator.

Additionally, so much of Applied Theatre is about outreach initiatives, so this showed me the inner workings of projects, while also enabling me to experience different forms of art and performance. As a staff team we encountered multiple challenges and difficulties, allowing me to understand and learn the importance of adaptability and effective communication, which will help me with future group projects on my course.

What has surprised you most about your experience?

The ability and effort put in by the young people despite changes and difficulties was amazing and the performance turned out wonderful and better than I ever could have expected. The caring nature of the lead facilitators and other staff members was also amazing - they wanted to make sure the young people had the best experience they possibly could, investing enormous amounts of time, physical and emotional energy.

It’s been really inspiring to work with people who have that attitude, making the project all the more enjoyable. Towards the end of the project I had to take on more of a leadership role, which I was very nervous about and was surprised at my ability to adapt and take on this new role despite my fears.

How did you find out about Central and decide to study with us?

At my youth theatre in Hong Kong (where I grew up) I had a director who was an alumni of the Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (DATE), BA course, and he recommended it to me, saying that it would be the kind of thing I would be interested in. When I read the course spec, it looked perfect because it combined all the areas of theatre and drama I am interested in. I had also been teaching at my youth theatre, so loved the focus on applied theatre and education. 

What are you planning to do after graduation?

I am planning on doing an MA at Central, so I can specify in an area in more detail. I either want to the Movement Direction and Teaching MA course or Creative Producing MA course, as I have a real interest in both movement direction and producing/arts management, which this project gave me further insight into.

Learn more about Brent’s Youth Theatre by following them on Instagram @brent_youth_theatre