Reminder of the basics

I have currently joined at Chickenshed the Young Directors scheme. This is where young individuals are taught/shadow and actively learn the skills in which many director at Chickenshed have.

Yesterday we had our first session and Mary Ward the co-founder of Chickenshed Theatre Company came in to talk to us, and allowed us to ask her questions about the processes in which she has been a part of and heading up.

This in terms of my work with BAPP has just brought me back to the meaning of inclusive theatre. When working along side this method on a day to day basis it is easy to forget the basics and take for graunted the work which was happening before i was even born.

Upon reflection i can appriciate how much this was needed for me in my line of work and also when finishing up with my inquiry.

These experiences i used to take for granted and not notice the immediate and long term effects it has on me as a practitionner but the skills which i have developed on this course allow me to notice these changes and experiences and then relay them into my inquiry

Process!

Soo im fully into this process and starting to bring it all together which i am really enjoying!

Im currently reading alot of books to ensure my literature is up to scratch! So if anyone has any recommendations they are all welcome!

Back at Chickenshed today and from some quite intense work on this inquiry im looking at everything in a new light.

This term at Chickenshed i am working quite intensly with their BA students. They have to create a piece of issue based theatre and tour the production followed by workshops. as this is pretty much what my inquiry is investigating the effectiveness of this process i was thinking wether it should be some how intergrated into my inquiry reaseach? as i have alot of information already i dont know if it would complicate things at this late stage? not sure but will have a think about it

Another diary entry from a workshop

1. Capital City Academy in Brent was the scene for another Crime of the Century workshop. The school have selected Year 9 children at risk of exclusion for the project and this was the first workshop in the sequence. This selection strategy is risky and difficult because in inclusion terms it means that children at risk of exclusion and involvement in potential gang or fringes of gang behaviour are being  separated and isolated from their mainstream peers. From an inclusion standpoint Chickenshed would usually want their development to happen alongside and with that of their peers not seen to be so much at risk.

We tried hard in the workshop to avoid the 13/ 14 year old students feeling stigmatised and stereotyped without total success but it is early days yet.

We emphasised as a team and I led this as the delivery leader for the project, that these young people were going to be anti- gang violence role models for their school and also anti- young people being stereotyped. Some have gone along with this because we have explained the issue so clearly and strongly. Others have yet to be convinced and are reacting as if the school have stereotyped them. This is not going to be an easy project over its next seven delivery weeks.

Starting a Facbook Page

www.facebook.com/chickenshedCOTC

After talking to some of my line-managers at Chickenshed Theatre company, i asked them a couple of weeks ago if i was able to start a Facebook page.

For as much as this would massively help me with my inquiry as it would be the easiest contact i can have with the participants in my project, it would also greatly benefit Chickenshed's work, and also linking together all the outreach projects they manage.

This also allows anyone who has participated in a workshop to see what the COTC team is doing and it doesn't feel like a door has just shut.

From my workshop process i felt like it was an "injustice" of some sort to get young people to open up and then leave, and only return if workshop opportunities arise.

So i started the Facebook page along side one of my colleagues. My decision to do this was heavily based on the work on BAPP which i have been doing the last year and a bit. Social Media creates so many opportunities for people to stay in contact, and for as much as i admit i have heavily shied away from it in my life- i think i might be starting to come round to the idea.

Have a look! Like it if you can!
And please please please tell me what you think about it!

Impact Measurement for Crime of the Century Projects.

  Diary entry

Had a great deal of debate and discussion about the impact measurement tools we are using for Crime of the Century Anti- Gang violence impact measurement. The tools are Questionaires and assorted practical guidance we have received from National Philanthropy Capital (NPC) over the last year where Chickenshed have paid for this training. We are piloting the materials and process in our projects at Capital City Academy Brent and Northumberland Park School Haringey.

 The Questionaires are long and quite involved. There are questions we have rejected such as " Do you consider yourself to be good looking" and "Do you jiggle and wiggle with objects while you sit on a chair ". And also rejected has been "Do you for most of the time consider yourself to be worthless."  In the impression of the team delivering the project these questions will hugely potentially unsettle the very complex and challenging groups we work with and potentially disrupt the entire questionaire process.

With these questions being carefully linked in pre-project and post- project form to externally validated mental well- being scales NPC are not in agreement that we are rejecting them but are happy if we can look at alternatives which mean the same thing or as close as can be. So we are working with ideas to enable this to happen convinced that we are correct.

We don't want the process itself of the questionaire to either contribute actively to lowering of self- esteem or to cause laughter or ridicule which will disrupt the whole process.

This one will run and run I feel and I feel a great sense of responsibility to help get this right for the target group and Chickenshed.

Joelyn Morrall Chickenshed.

Impact Measurement Planning.

ITS BEEN A WHILE!

It has been a very long time since Ive blogged! which i know is BAD ! really bad!

BUT silver lining

is that i have been keeping very detailed diary entries into everything i have been doing related in any way to my inquiry. Blogging ironically i have found to be the hardest part of the BAPP, but i know my diary entries do not equal out not bloggin, but it reminds me to share what i have done, and also means what i share is what was actually happening and not me trying to remember it.

For anyone who follows my blogs please let me know what you are doing! i would love to know where you are all at with your inquiries

jojox

ps, am going to start uploading my diary entries