Thirty young people are taking part in Dumfries & Galloway’s Ensemble
New youth performance company launched as part of the Year of Young People 2018 to create a major project which will be staged later in the year.
Thirty talented young people aged between 13 and 23 will work together as part of a three-week project between the 23rd July and 12th August to create a brand-new piece of theatre reflecting Scotland in 2018 and the imminent exit from the European Union.
Young people have created the vision for the project over the last twelve months, which has included auditioning young people from all over Dumfries and Galloway to take part in the project.
Young people have been mentored to shape and design the entire piece of work, including the creative team who have been brought into deliver the project.
Four Associate Producers aged between 22 and 24 are leading the entire project which will end up becoming a piece of multi-level immersive theatre as part of Scotland’s themed Year of Young People 2018.
They began an intense youth learning journey that will see them taking control of a live performance project over a three-month period.
Young people are being mentored in a range of producing skills which range from playwriting, choreography, devising, technical management and directing.
Young people have hailed from all over Dumfries and Galloway, including Sanquhar, Kirkcudbright, Annan, Lockerbie, Castle Douglas, New Galloway, Newton Stewart, Gatehouse of Fleet and Dumfries.
Graham Main, Executive Producer of Elektronika which is producing the project said:
“This is the next generation of producers in South Scotland, and this project is about providing them with the context and skills to be able to drive our cultural economy into the future. We have embraced the idea that the Year of Young People is an opportunity to help create life-long legacies for young people.”
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events:
“We are delighted to be supporting Regional Ensemble as part of the Year of Young People celebrations. This is a fantastic opportunity for young people in Dumfries and Galloway to get involved with a new youth performance company and to shape it’s creative output. The co-designed programme further reinforces Scotland’s position as the perfect stage for events by handing over the reins to our younger generation and allowing them to showcase Scotland’s incredible young talent.”
Jordan Chisholm, 22 from Dumfries, an Associate Director of the project said
This has been a brilliant process bringing this project together, as we have been given the freedom to bring creative people together from a wide range of different disciplines to connect with each other to make one piece of theatre.
The project is being produced by Elektronika, creators of Big Burns Supper, Carlisle Fringe, Le Haggis and will run for the next three weeks with a final performance culminating in October 2018.
The project is funded by the Year of Young People event fund managed by EventScotland, on behalf of Scottish Government, Awards for All, Holywood Trust and is sponsored by Dumfries & Galloway College.
