Reframing the Discourse – How Effective Youth Theatre Recruitment Practice Can Minimise Engagement Barriers for Priority Participants

Crompton, Natalie

Abstract

Organisations who deliver youth theatre must consider not only how they recruit
participants but who they recruit to ensure children and young people most in need of
pervasive skill development benefit from funded extra-curricular provision. Drama facilitates
the acquisition of a range of skills including improved self-advocacy, increased confidence
and resilience and the development of teamwork and project planning strategies. Drama
has also been shown to have a measurable impact on children’s learning competencies
which can lead to improved education outcomes. Access to drama provision can significantly
improve outcomes for children and young people by providing the opportunity for those
participants to develop skills which improve their cultural and social capital and their
prospects for social mobility.
Youth theatre recruitment practice does not always consider how to make offers accessible
to those children and young people most in need of the acquisition of those skills. The novel
contribution of this research is the highlighting of this gap in practice, together with a
positive reframing of the discourse and a proposed framework for recruitment in youth
theatre. This framework builds on the elements of best practice isolated through an analysis
of current youth theatre programmes by considering them in a practical context which,
although focused on the need to recruit priority participants, would also cater for children
and young people who are more experienced.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Mar 22, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 27, 2024
• Award Date: Mar 26, 2024