BOP Young Artists is a new artist development initiative from Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, supported by The Robertson Trust, and led by BOP’s Development Officer, Morna McGeoch (go to BOP staff).
BOP Young Artists is an artist development opportunity aimed at young people who have experienced barriers in taking part in other artist development opportunities due to an impairment.
This project aims to provide a space where young people with a passion for the performing arts can learn skills and develop their own creative practice, so they are better able to apply and take part in future creative opportunities. BOP wants to help nurture the future generation of talented disabled creatives.
Currently
Our Young Artists’ work-in-progress showing was set to close Youth Theatre Arts Scotland’s National Convention of Youth Drama on March 20th 2020, which has been postponed due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
However, we have now moved our work online to continue to developing our new piece of performance: ‘Locked World’
Each of our Young Artists are also working with our Development Officer to create individual professional development goals and pathways. If you would like to discuss any opportunities your organisation might have for our Young Artists, please do get in touch!
The journey so far…
From April 2019 til August 2019, the Young Artists took part in a wide range of activity – providing support and opportunities to develop their existing skills and knowledge, and to connect with other arts professionals across the UK.
Some of the activities they engaged in have included:
- Access to Acting workshop led by Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), at Scottish Youth Theatre.
- Workshops on: making successful funding applications; employment and disability; self-employment and tax returns; roles in the theatre industry; and sharing our practice with others.
- Observing rehearsals of Birds of Paradise and National Theatre of Scotland’s ‘My Left/Right Foot: The Musical’ at NTS’ purpose-built home: Rockvilla.
- Attending performances of ‘My Left Right Foot: The Musical’ at Dundee Rep, and ‘Purposeless Movements’ as part of the Edinburgh International Festival 2019.
- Attending a number of performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019, including two performances by members of BOP Young Artists.
In September, the Young Artists began to develop work-in-progress pieces for a scratch night created in partnership with Glasgow Connected Arts Network and The Bold Collective.
Some of the Young Artists were involved in the planning and organisational areas of the event, while others created solo performance pieces to present at the event.
Soon, you will be able read all about the Young Artists’ experiences of the scratch night!
For now, here are some images from the event:
MEET THE BOP YOUNG ARTISTS
Emily Beaney
Emily Beaney [she/her]
I enjoy working across disciplines to create outcomes that strive to be poignant, socially relevant and materially stimulating for the viewer’s senses.
These outcomes are largely ‘wearable sculptures’ for live art, activism and performance.
I experiment with materials such as fibre optics, metalwork, plastics and casted resins, alongside more traditional fibres and fabrics, to create striking sculptural forms. I also incorporate light, olfactory, sound and tactile elements in my work,
as I am fascinated by how our sensory experiences of the world can enhance our understanding of it.
My practice therefore seeks to establish how multi-sensory and immersive performance can effectively communicate meaningful messages and allow us to share in others’ experiences.
Jonathan Carlton
Jonathan Carlton [he/him]
I am an Autistic Actor who is passionate about Entertainment being Autism friendly, my focus is on utilising live Theatre as driving a force to creatively explore what Autism is.
The focus is on doing this through performance working as a performer and through directing performance working as a director.
The focus is also on delivering Autism Awareness support to the Theatre and Entertainment industry through consultancy work on how to be Autism aware and Autism friendly.
I believe the Dramatic Arts is the greatest art form in the world and I believe the Dramatic Arts should be a driving force to inform the world about Autism.
Ink Asher Hemp
Ink Asher Hemp [they/them]
I am a queer, trans, disabled creator, storyteller, activist
Theatre maker
A mentally fucked precariat
I’m a benefit scrounger and an art slag
I am white, For the most part I pass as male (I’m not), and For now I have secure housing
I walk through this world with privilege and benefit from so many systems of oppression
I have neither a passport or a birth certificate
I’m damn young and old as first atom
My heart runs on naivety and brain eats reality for breakfast, lunch, and tea
I’m a trouble maker
A considered trouble maker not act now and look at the laws later
I am 22537
I hate being photographed
I am recorded on upwards of 70 cameras a day
every day that I leave my flat
just like you
I live next door to 3 pigeons and a baby
I value my sleep
I value the future of freedom and democracy… autonomy and privacy
Emily Ingram
Emily Ingram [she/they]
I’m a theatre-maker (and part-time arts administrator) with particular experience in producing, directing, and writing. I am interested in re-telling traditional stories in new ways with a focus on LGBT+ and women’s narratives. I am also a prop-maker and enjoy incorporating prop-work and spoken word influences into my creative practice.
Since 2015, I have worked as the Artistic Director of Some Kind of Theatre, an Edinburgh-based literary theatre company which I co-founded. Some Kind of Theatre (who are affectionately known as Skot) bring bookish new writing and literary classics to life onstage and in living rooms, care homes, offices, and schools, and we are striving to integrate accessibility into our organisation from our audition process right through to the way we bring our performances to our audiences. Since 2016, we have been running the Shakespeare On The Sofa and the Theatre On The Sofa schemes, which bring performances into the homes of people who can’t easily access theatre in traditional venues.
I’m really excited to be part of Birds Of Paradise’s Young Artists project and am enjoying learning from BOP and the other young artists who are taking part in the pilot scheme.
Robert McIntosh
Robert McIntosh [he/him]
I am an aspiring actor and voice actor interested particularly in the role of the anti-hero and villain in story. I am interested in live theatre work, as well as voiceover work (including animated works and video games).
My passion for acting comes from feeling more able to fully express myself, by doing this through a character. Through my career, I want audiences to be excited about the talent of disabled actors, and to inspire future generations of disabled people.
Andrew Robertson
Andrew Robertson [he/him]
[Transcript]
I am born in a world where everything is normal. And I don’t even like the word ‘normal’, or even, ‘reality’.
Imagination is art. Even though you see it, like cars and all that, we also created them. We are the creators of imagination. Anything could be possible- if you try.
I’m Andrew Robertson. I am not anybody but myself. I would refer to myself as: a human being that wants to have fun all the time.
The work that I make: I use my imagination to help people to understand. What I want for people is to see, not from my point of view. What I want them to see is what they can accomplish. I want them to experience the same thing: I want them to have fun, just like me, but in their own way, not my way.
BOP-YA call out (archive)
BOP Young Artists is for any Glasgow based (or who can get to Glasgow) young person who has ideas in the performing arts or skills they would like to develop.
The selected group of young people will meet to take part in regular group workshops. The initiative will be organised by our Development Officer and they will work with you to plan projects and workshops based on what you want to learn together and the direction you want to go in. We will shape the programme around the specific areas of interest of everybody involved. Some ideas of what the workshops could focus on are: storytelling; movement; playwriting; using music on stage. These are just ideas – we are very open to exploring any fields of interest that have a connection to performance. We hope that once a year you there will be a performance or event to share the ideas you have been working on.
We understand that some disabled people experience barriers preventing them from taking part in creative opportunities, so because of this we do not expect you to have taken part in previous creative opportunities. However, we do expect you to have a passion for creating performance – perhaps you love creating short films with your friends, or maybe you enjoy writing or taking photographs – all we are looking for people who have an interest in making creative work as part of a group.
BOP Young Artists is an artist development opportunity aimed at people who have experienced barriers in taking part in other artist development opportunities due to an impairment. We want this project to provide a space where young people with a passion for the performing arts can learn skills and develop their own creative practice, so they are better able to apply and take part in future creative opportunities. BOP wants to help nurture the future generation of talented disabled creatives.
BOP Young Artists is free for all people to take part, you will however have to arrange your own travel to and from the fortnightly workshops in Glasgow.
BOP will always work to whatever your access requirements are and we have a specific budget set aside to overcome any barriers that may have an associated cost – we do not want an individual’s access requirements to be a barrier that prevents them from taking part in BOP Young Artists.
BOP uses the term ‘disabled people’ or ‘disabled artists’ to refer to anyone who self-identifies as disabled. This includes people who are D/deaf or have a mental health condition. To see the full definition we use, please follow this link.
We are not currently recruiting for BOP Young Artists – but if you are interested in being part of BOP Young Artists in the future, you can register your interest by clicking here.
Any further questions, please contact Morna at morna@boptheatre.co.uk or call us on 0141 552 1725
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