Horsecross - Trainee drama worker programme
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Horsecross evolved out of Perth Theatre as the new agency delivering cultural activities in Perth Concert Hall, Perth Theatre and to all communities across the Perth and Kinross area. It aims to put this part of Scotland firmly on the cultural map both nationally and internationally.
Background
Since January 2005 Horsecross Arts has run a programme of drama work for individuals recovering from mental ill health, managed and delivered by its Drama Development Co-ordinator, Suzi Morrice.
The programme began with an eight-week drama and scriptwriting project with participants who had been referred from mental health support services in Perth and Kinross. The project was so successful that it was extended by a further eight weeks. The project participants performed a short one -act play at the end of the sixteen weeks entitled Murder on the Menu. The participants wanted to continue the process and further develop the script to realise its full potential. After funding was secured, Murder on the Menu was performed in July 2006 to three sell out performances at Perth Studio Theatre.
The company was called the Perth Extrordinaires. Both the participants and the drama worker agreed that they should be able to participate without the need to be referred to in a mental health context. Since then, six of the original Extrordinaires have been performing and touring a piece called Pass the Nuts, commissioned by the National Schizophrenia Fellowship. It explores other people’s attitudes to mental health, including that of the medical profession!
“I can testify to the visible difference to participants’ wellbeing brought about by improved confidence and self esteem”
Lorna McCurrach, Planning Officer, Mental Health, Perth and Kinross Council.
After the success of Murder on the Menu the participants were keen to continue learning and to develop their skills. They all felt strongly about the benefits they had derived and that drama could provide to those embarking on their recovery from illness. Plans for a trainee drama worker programme were developed with the Drama Development Co-ordinator with the main aims of:
- providing accessible drama workshops for people recovering from mental illness
- providing opportunities for trainees to use the programme to gain paid drama work and/or increased community involvement
There are six trainee drama workers, all of whom have been involved in the original projects. During the yearlong programme the trainee drama workers will run a series of workshops reaching out to approximately 120 participants. The workshop programme will enable the trainees to use their experience and skills to empower other people to gain confidence and a feeling of mental well being, through drama.
The programme began in April, with trainees coming together for weekly practical workshops in which they consolidated, analysed and evaluated drama skills and workshop practice. It continued until August when the first practical project took place. In conjunction with NHS Tayside, the trainees worked together, supported by Suzi Morrice, to run a 6 week programme of fun drama workshops for participants recently discharged from hospital. In October, the trainees will put on their acting hats to perform Pass the Nuts for mental health week before embarking on their individual supported placements with mental health service providers within Perth and Kinross.
After Christmas, the trainees will plan, deliver and charge for their services in a final placement. This final placement will be evaluated from the point of view of the participants, service providers, Horsecross and the trainees themselves.