Young Audiences Scotland is the pilot audience development project for the children and young people’s theatre sector. Created by the consortium of Catherine Wheels, the Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival, Giant, TAG, Visible Fictions and Wee Stories, the ultimate aim of the project is to increase and develop audiences for children and young people’s theatre in Scotland, through collaborative working and dissemination of best practice.
A joint audience development initiative between six companies producing children and young people’s theatre to investigate a collaborative approach to audience development.
The ultimate aim of the project is to increase and develop audiences for Children and Young People’s theatre in Scotland and specifically for the six partners in this pilot project, through collaborative working and dissemination of best practice.
The key elements of the project programme focus on the development and enhancement of the partnership’s abilities to improve their communications and audience development through collaborative activity: to develop and pilot projects and working practice that could not have been achieved if each company was working in isolation. As a result, the pilot programme combines a comprehensive range of both strategic and tactical audience development activity.
The programme combines collaborative strategic and tactical activity and can be identified as follows:
to identify and prioritise partnership working with relevant umbrella organisations to ensure the development of relationships with Young Audiences Scotland and to enhance position and developmental opportunities in networking, strategic planning and training.
Specific project planning recommendations, resulting from the audit meetings, were approved by Young Audiences Scotland in May 2007 and submitted to key officers at the Scottish Arts Council.
Relationship Building
To date, Young Audiences Scotland has held a series of steering group meetings with key stakeholder groups including Creative Links Officers, Venues and Programmers and companies working within the children and young people’s theatre sector. The aim of these meetings is to agree recommendations for activity that will meet the project’s objectives to enhance audience development opportunities and performance through the development of improved communications and understanding.
Audience Building
In September 2007, Young Audiences Scotland launched its central collaborative information service and website www.youngaudiencesscotland.com. The aim of this element of the project is to ensure that all interested parties are fully aware of the range of product available to them, encouraging more teachers, parents and carers, young people and children to enjoy more theatre experiences.
The content and management of the website has been developed collaboratively to provide audiences and promoters with a ‘one-stop-shop’ of touring information that promotes the wealth of fine work available for 0-25 year olds, their companions, family members, teachers and friends.
The website is managed, maintained and monitored by the partners to ensure the sustainability of this key promotional service. The website’s visitor rate and sign up to the newsletter are monitored and documented on a monthly basis.
The website incorporates a ‘what’s on’ search engine that features a range of search criteria options (including age range suitability, venues and broader regions) and a location finder service enabling users to locate venues easily and quickly to eradicate last minute planning of their journey.
In addition, the website also provides visitors with the opportunity to sign up to a free monthly information e-newsletter. Young Audiences Scotland has produced 3 monthly e-newsletters to date.
The development of the Young Audiences Scotland website and information service has created an invaluable additional promotional tool for the contributing companies and their production programmes.
From January 2008 – Young Audiences Scotland has developed access to the promotional search engine in the Young Audiences Scotland website for companies producing theatre for Children and Young People. Training has been provided for all interested parties.
Intelligence Building
In May, Young Audiences Scotland commissioned GGA to manage their multi-stranded audience-profiling programme aimed at improving the partnership’s understanding and knowledge relative to the existing and potential audience profile for the sector.
In addition to the provision of audience data and information, GGA is working in partnership with Young Audiences Scotland for the duration of the project and beyond, to offer support and advise on potential continuation strategies.
The Intelligence Building programme has a clear relationship with the ultimate aims of the project as a whole, to increase and broaden the range of the audiences for the children and young people’s theatre sector.
The partners of Young Audiences Scotland are committed to utilising the research programme to improve their organisational and audience development performance, individually and collaboratively.
Sally Wilson carried out a comprehensive analysis of the crossover ratios present within the 6 partners mailing lists in May 2007.
Profile Building In June 2007 Young Audiences Scotland commissioned the design of the Young Audiences Scotland logo and promotional print for the website and central information service.
A Guideline for use of logo and Young Audiences signature document has been circulated to the partnership for continual use.
Skill building
During the course of the full project period Young Audiences Scotland will continue to develop the internal skills building programme to harness the combined strengths, skills and vibrancy operating within the partnership.
To date, the partners of Young Audiences Scotland have all undertaken comprehensive Content Management System training, to enable the management and maintenance of the Young Audiences Scotland website.
In December 2007, Young Audiences Scotland received comprehensive training on the Curriculum for Excellence from Creative Links Officers Cerin Richardson and Lesley Dunlop, to inform the implementation of the recommendations agreed by the Creative Links Officer steering group.
Sally Wilson, Project Co-ordinator
Tel: 01620 811103
E-mail: info@youngaudiencesscotland.com
Web: www.youngaudiencesscotland.com