Young Everyman and Playhouse Associate Director, Chris Tomlinson shares how he’s helping take care of our young people at this time:

During the lockdown period we’ve been working to maintain connection and activity in some way or another across our strands. 

This has consisted of creative sessions delivered from myself and from some of our freelance family within the city. We have seen our young people create spoken word, short films, songs and engage within general debate and conversations about the landscape both politically and artistically we find ourselves in today. 

We’ve been able to provide masterclass sessions with directors, producers and marketers with nationally renowned companies such as Middle Child and also our own Artistic Director (Gemma Bodinetz) and Producer (Victoria Rope). 

Our activity has acted as a place to check in and be a touchstone for our young people to engage about their mental well-being and how it is affecting them being disconnected from friends, school, college and their place of work. For some of our young people this has been a vital connection for them to have whilst navigating these strange times and how we are going to emerge through the relaxing of lockdown and into a post COVID-19 world. 

One project in particular that I’m super excited to talk about comes in the form of a collaboration between YEP and the Liverpool Arts Society. The L.A.S is made up of four creatives who have launched a 'society' in which they act as a place to facilitate and collaborate across all art platforms within our city. They have created their own pieces of work in the Hope St Theatre, as well as hosting many bespoke arts events and nights in various venues across the city. In the last year they recently launched the Liverpool Arts Bar in the masonic lodge on Hope St. Since their opening they have quickly become one of 'the' places to be to experience great music, art, poetry, readings and a whole array of events throughout the week. Two of their core team are graduates of our YEP directors course - Tom Wilson and Alex Medlicott, whom some of you may have met at previous supporter evenings.  It’s with a real sense of pride that I have created this collaboration.

With YEP and the 'arts bar' we are attempting to create a brand new original radio drama. The idea of the radio drama is that it can cross pollinate all our strands for those young people who wish to get involved. We are currently in to week two and plan to release the radio drama through a week at the end of June.

They are tasked with creating, devising, writing and directing all the material themselves with the guidance of the LAS team. They are also responsible for the generation of all sound. At the moment they are out and about gathering a plethora of sounds from their kettles boiling, to the sound of the bath running to the click of a pedestrian crossing and the bleep of a socially distant Asda check out... 

We do this entirely over Zoom and deliver sessions nearly every day, gathering material and editing and redrafting.

The project is ambitious, fun and I'm finding our young people are gaining real fulfilment together with a sense of worth and pride in the creation of their own radio drama.

I look forward to being able to share it with you come the end of the month.