We recently chatted to Mark Worth, Artistic Director of Highly Sprung Performance, about his route into the arts, Highly Sprung's partnership with the Belgrade, and their Changing Climates Festival.
For many artists working in the theatre, youth theatre was their route into the arts world. Performing as a teenager with like-minded young people, making memories as they created performances: musicals, comedies, tragedies and dare I say it… physical theatre? For me, my route in was by working with a theatre company visiting my school. The company was Theatre de Complicite and they totally changed my life. They instilled in me an understanding of how the arts can empower young people.
Fast forward 25 years and there is no better example of inspiring and empowering young people through the arts than the Physical Fellowship by Highly Sprung Performance.
In 2008, the Belgrade Theatre hosted Highly Sprung’s pilot festival, bringing schools together to participate in workshops with world renowned physical theatre companies and to share their own original pieces of physical performance, all connected to a common theme. Needless to say, it was a success and the Physical Fellowship was born. Now having run for over 10 years, the connection to Highly Sprung, the Belgrade Theatre and this unique festival has since only grown stronger.
Photo by Andrew Moore
For 2021: Changing Climates Festival, produced by the Coventry Young Producers Collective
This year sees the Theatre once again play host to the UK’s only physical theatre festival exclusively for young people, with the Changing Climates Festival on this week.
So, what does that mean? Well, throughout the week, all the performers taking to the stage will be young people aged between 11 and 19. The performances will have been created by the young people, the workshops we deliver have been chosen by young people, the stage of the festival has been designed by young people – even the theme of climate change has been chosen by young people.
Photo by Andrew Moore
The young people who have made many of these decisions are Coventry’s Young Producers Collective (CYPC). A group of brilliantly inspiring teenagers from a collection of Coventry schools. Under the guidance of Highly Sprung’s directors, the young people have curated and designed the Changing Festival, to take on the challenging subject of climate change and the perils that our planet faces in the next few years. Supported by the Arts Council, the newly titled Changing Climates Festival aims to inspire the members of the CYPC by highlighting different roles and career opportunities in the arts, other than being a performer. The group have been able to meet award winning artists, composers and producers of some of the biggest festivals in the country. They have heard presentations from stage managers who have toured the world and listened to how designers create the unexpected through their work. One member of the group commented:
“I always knew I wanted to work in the arts, but this has really opened my eyes to the range of possibilities… I never knew there’d be so many different jobs to do!”
Photo by Andrew Moore
The CYPC aren’t the only ones getting the chance to be inspired through the festival.
Performances by the participating schools will look at the stories of environmental activists like, Greta Thunberg, Wangari Maathi and William Kamkwamba who built a wind turbine to power his home at the tender age of 14. Other performances will look at the effect that humanity has had on the world, paying particular attention to the industrial revolution, air pollution and the severe effect that plastic is having on our planet.
Photo by Andrew Moore
Each night will see a headline performance of Winter Rites, performed by Sprung Advance, a group of young people who work with the artists at Highly Sprung each week. Winter Rites is set in Earth’s last winter and a time where the planet is slowing on its axis, so much so that a day now lasts over 60 hours.
Taking place across this week, Highly Sprung hopes to provide an inspiring programme for the performers and producers involved, showcasing the talent of young people in Coventry. And who knows? Perhaps in another 25 years’ time an artist will be sitting at their desk, writing about what inspired them to go into a career in the arts and they will say “I worked with Highly Sprung at the Belgrade Theatre.”
Learn more about Highly Sprung and their work here, or follow their social media for all the latest Changing Climates Festival updates this week!