Young People These Days (part one)

Although this is likely to be one of those posts that doesn't get many readers (it is another piece of Vile nonsense), I feel that it is important to set out my opinions on theatre for young people. I have seen quite a bit in the past year, and have been pondering how best to critique this work. I am vigorously opposed to the idea that youth theatre ought to be assessed by the same parameters as 'professional' theatre, but not on grounds of quality or mere snobbery.

I believe that theatre created by young people (I am talking about the wide variety of companies made up of people under 26 who are not paid to perform) can be as vibrant and engaging as anything produced by professionals (that is, companies were everybody is paid for creation and performing). But I also believe that the intentions of young people's theatre are not the same as those of the professional companies. The outcomes are fundamentally different, even if the quality is the same.

Reading through Metaphrog's comic version of Creative Scotland's 'strategy for ages 0-25' (Time to Shine), the emphasis is quite clearly on creating opportunities for young people to perform. While the story ends up with the band getting a recording contract (anyone familiar with Steve Albini's essay The Problem with Music might not think this qualifies as a happy ending) and the trumpet player gains the respect of the school hardman, the story is all about the empowerment of the students.

According to a book I read once, it is participation rather than spectating that makes the arts useful: since the days of New Labour, most arts initiatives have stressed this community aspect in some manner. While there are programmes for professional artists (I am thinking of Unlimited, which has just announced its latest funding), the particular nature of youth theatre encouraged Creative Scotland to make both access and excellence the aim of their strategy. Flicking through the Curriculum for Excellence, I found this quotation.

“The inspiration and power of the arts play a vital role in enabling our children and young people to enhance their creative talent and develop their artistic skills.  By engaging in experiences within the expressive arts, children and young people will recognise and represent feelings and emotions, both their own and those of
others. The expressive arts play a central role in shaping our sense of our personal, social and cultural identity."

The arts are not an end in themselves: they are part of an educational experience that develops the individual. Achievement is not necessarily measured in terms of performance, but the emotional and educational journey of the participants.

That isn't to say that the final product is irrelevant, but the process is equally important. The traditional outside eye of the critic does not take this into account. And this means that there might be a better way to approach the critique of young people's theatre.