Ben's Stage Directions Journey

       
"I just love this project and just seeing [the learners] thrive, I miss it all the time". 

Speaking in October 2022
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Ben worked with Stage Directions in the final year of the programme as a trainee, supporting the Ensemble Leader at the SEND school Springwood in Swinton, Salford. 

What the Stage Directions experience was like for Ben and the learners:
The impact that this project has had on the young people that I've worked with has been immense. When we first went into the project, there were certain young people who the teachers said weren't engaged. But those little wins [were rewarding to see], like if they joined the circle or joined in an activity, those wins were incredible. I just love this project and just seeing [the learners] thrive, I miss it all the time, I miss going into the school, and seeing a young person go from being at the back of the room to join in the circle or one of the young people who was very literal in the way he thought to actually come up with something on the spot. And I just want to note that, it's something that I still talk really fondly of; the intensive progress that a young person can make with something so small. And yeah, I miss it. I miss it all the time. I miss that group of young people. I miss how funny they all were. 

Training and the impact of training on employability for the individual / extension of the sector in Salford:

A recent graduate from the University of Salford, Stage Directions was Ben’s first experience facilitating sessions with children with disabilities. Working closely with an artist with many years’ experience in this area over this extended period gave Ben a deep understanding of how to approach theatre in this setting, but also consider accessibility more closely in any youth theatre setting. 
I hadn't had that experience of understanding how theatre could be created with the additional barriers that the industry puts in place. And I found that to be a really great thing that Stage Directions offered me that I hadn't had anywhere else. 
It's totally different and your thought processes and how you navigate things to get the result you want. We took every win as it came, there weren’t any targets that we wanted to get with the young people. Every little win was massive. It made me appreciate working with young people who maybe have more barriers to the arts. And it really made me think about when I do my workshops, how accessible are they? And if they're not, how can I make them more accessible through what I do? My practice has changed in terms of how I notice things and how I use communication tools. But also having the extra awareness [of safeguarding issues]. 
Stage Directions also arranged key training for Ben including Arts Award Advisor training and NSPCC training for safeguarding young people, training that would have been prohibitively expensive otherwise. The training has opened up more opportunities for Ben in the arts sector. This also ensures that the sector has greater range of more skilled and experienced 
Finances are such a big barrier to do these things because the training is usually expensive. And when you’re someone who is just entering the freelance world, it can feel like a very big expense. All those different things have made me, on paper more desirable as a facilitator. 

What impact did having a dedicated core team to facilitate the full programme have on the experience of the artists: 
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Having a dedicated team to arrange the activity in the beginning, but crucially, to support throughout the activity. 
They were really supportive. It was really great to have someone who wasn't directly involved in the workshops, someone who was making sure everything was okay. They communicated things really well. I was getting a lot of really good in-depth emails, which were really helpful. And updates were sent through when any other opportunities within the Stage Directions umbrella came up. So, I was really happy with that.

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