Independent production studio China Plate and Coventry’s Warwick Arts Centre are to stage a digital festival which has been programmed by, with and for 16- to 21-year-olds.
The Young Producers’ Reclaimed Fest, which will take place between 26 and 28 June, features 15 young people who will present a selection of theatre, dance and poetry on YouTube. Further details can be found at the Eventbrite web site.
Young Producers is a free training opportunity for Coventry-based youngsters that offers insight into what it takes to put on arts events from planning to delivery.
China Plate is also piloting a new programme designed to offer support to NHS and care workers. The company is delivering an online workshop to reflect on healthcare workers’ experiences. It will also explore whether arts-based approaches can improve wellbeing.
Afterwards, writer and director Nick Walker will shape material gathered from the workshop into an audio recording. It will be part of a digital exhibition in 2021 when Coventry will be the UK City of Culture. It will also be used by academics at Coventry University to develop further resources to help healthcare workers.
Speaking about the projects, China Plate’s artistic directors Ed Collier and Paul Warwick said, “during this difficult time it’s really important for us to think what our role as theatre producers can be both in repurposing our work to help the response to the COVID-19 crisis and also continuing our work to support the development of young artists and producers.
“These two projects are the first of a number of initiatives and digital events we’ll be launching across the summer.”