Stage One Youth Theatre is a Portsmouth based charity that seeks to improve young people's social and mental well-being, and to unlock their potential through theatre by offering inclusive, high-quality youth theatre experiences for young people from all backgrounds, where their creativity and self-confidence can grow, and where there is the freedom for young people to express and be themselves.
We are raising funds to purchase a range of equipment and materials to support the long-term delivery of our charitable purposes, including media and audio equipment and adaptable staging. This will better enable us to provide high quality youth theatre experiences for the benefit of both young people participating in our youth theatre projects and the wider local communities that we serve. The equipment will support and expand our work and enhance public performances in the Portsmouth area, whilst helping to reduce our production costs to ensure that access is available to all sections of our community, including to those from less advantaged backgrounds.
Portsmouth is densely populated with high levels of urban development and is ranked as one of the most deprived areas in Hampshire according to the Government’s overall Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD); the combination of these factors puts significant pressure on infrastructure, resources and services, which can mean that children and young people have comparatively limited in-school and out-of-school opportunities to participate in and engage with the performing arts. Yet the performing arts are proven to be hugely beneficial for mental and emotional well-being and creativity is an important outlet for people. Moreover, research shows that children who are exposed to the arts early in life more actively engage with them when they become adults.
The outcomes from our fundraising will help Stage One Youth Theatre to address a local need for positive and accessible out-of-school activities for young people. Working collaboratively within our local community and with our local creative sector, Stage One creates theatre experiences (through workshops, rehearsals and performances) that enable young people to develop a range of performance and social skills in a safe environment that will give them positive experiences and life-lessons to take into their adult lives. The performing arts demands discipline, commitment and hard work, and the making of high-quality theatre develops key technical and social skills, underpinned by taking responsibility and working as a team. When brought together, these positive behaviours help to develop a sense of self-worth, community and confidence, which are so important for young people's social development and their mental and emotional well-being.