Coventry’s Belgrade has set up a new Asian Youth Theatre performance group.
The group, which runs on Wednesdays between 4 and 6PM, is open to those aged 8 to 11.
It has been set up to offer young people from Asian backgrounds the opportunity to develop their performance skills in a professional theatre environment. No previous drama experience is necessary.
The Belgrade’s community and education company, which this year celebrates 50 years of delivering educational projects to young people and communities across Coventry and Warwickshire, is running the group.
Asian Youth Theatre co-ordinator Reena Jaisiah explains, “The project is about celebrating the voices of diverse Asian and ethnic communities in Coventry and is the first Asian youth project of this kind to be undertaken by the Belgrade.
“Through the process of devising and performing their own work, the students are encouraged to integrate and learn about one another’s identity, building bridges with different communities in the process.
“The project is about challenging stereotypes within Asian communities through drama and empowering young people to question those stereotypes.
“Students have developed valuable life skills such as the ability to communicate better, to work as a team, to use techniques like improvisation, to use their voice and to think critically about their own culture and identity.”
Workshop student Gianna Wright who is 13 added, “Taking part in the workshops has really helped me with my confidence on stage and around other people too. This is my first experience of taking part in youth theatre and I’m really enjoying it so far.”