Chrysalis 2018 was staged at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, and curated with the support of a consortium of industry specialists. The festival is the only platform of its kind in Scotland and offers a new experience for audiences new to youth theatre arts.
The festival aimed to:
- Positively enhance the public perception of creative work by young people
- Attract new audiences to youth theatre arts
- Inspire and raise the aspirations of Scotland’s youth arts sector
- Stimulate critical discussion
Chrysalis 2018 companies
Junges Ensemble Marabu, There Is A Glove Stuck In My Throat (UK Premiere)
Platform Young Company, Shaking the Habitual (World Premiere)
Camden Youth Theatre, Noise (Scottish Premiere)
Activising For Change, 147Hz Can’t Pass
Emergence
More young companies presented brand new works in development on stage and around the venue for the first time. These were…
Little Red Ensemble
Macrobert Young Company
Ayr Gaiety Young Company & RCS Young Theatre Company
Festival Events Programme
Chrysalis 2018 also featured an extensive events programme to complement the productions on stage. We scheduled schools performances, which were a unique opportunity to see high-quality work by young companies from Germany, London, and Scotland, and helped students develop the skills to talk confidently about theatre. This links to the Drama ‘Performance Analysis’ Higher, and the ‘Project Dissertation’ in Advanced Higher.
Our Learning and Engagement Manager, Vikki, hosted a practical and energetic schools workshop exploring how to interpret and talk about theatre with confidence and flair (to avoid that awkward struggle to find words when someone asks you what you thought of the show!)
Our Chrysalis Unpacked session, designed for teachers and practitioners, delved into the Chrysalis programme, pulling out key themes and discussion topics and exploring them in new ways. Participants were also be introduced to exercises used in our Young Critics programme, to consider how these can be used to support young people to discover their critical voice when viewing performance.
Other sessions included a Managers’ Forum, a chance to meet the programmers, a youth panel, several ‘In the Studio with…’ sessions, and a Meet the Directors breakfast.
