Holly: Creative Communities FASS Internship at The Dukes

Holly was a Creative Communities intern at The Dukes for three months and worked across various projects such as Young Company, Prime Time and Young Carers as part of their employability experience, here are Holly’s reflections: 

During my time as a Creative Communities Assistant for my internship with The Dukes, one of the main projects in which I have been involved is the Prime Time project. As stated by Charlie Brown, The Dukes’ Older Peoples Coordinator, “Prime Time is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and aims to improve health and wellbeing in people 65+ by offering a range of new and creative opportunities.  The weekly drama-based sessions are attended by approximately 40 people in both the Lancaster and Morecambe areas. We are currently just over halfway through the 3-year funding period and so far the ongoing reviews and evaluations of the project have been very favourable, with many participants stating that their involvement in Prime Time is the highlight of their week.  We have also launched a monthly film club, had a variety of masterclasses and one-off workshops and been on several trips to other theatres.”

The weekly creative sessions are aimed at bringing those 65+ together to build friendships, enhance creative skills and maintain physical, emotional and social health in later life. The sessions, run by skilled freelance facilitators, cover a wide variety of theatrical and creative topics, ranging from improvisation, to dance and movement, to Shakespeare and more! My role saw me working alongside the Morecambe group, assisting the facilitator and getting to know the vibrant group of creatives who attend weekly. I would aid the facilitator in engaging the group in initial physical and vocal warm-up exercises before we would begin on the plan for that week’s session. My role would often adapt depending on the focus on the session, which saw me getting directly involved in some activities, or taking a step back and becoming an observer to assist members in others. A particular favourite activity of mine was one in which the participants were each given a ‘status’ between one and ten, then provided with a scenario through which they could improvise a scene. This saw them performing highly comedic scenes with improvised characters, ranging from a group of detectives to a crowd of school children, which created an energetic and entertaining workshop! I found that group activities such as this are also especially useful for less confident group members, as they allow everyone to get involved together without feeling as though they are being singled out to be watched, therefore I found this to be a very useful activity for encouraging involvement and enhancing team spirit within the group.

Overall, I found that by working with this group, I was able to develop my overall skills of workshop facilitation by observing a professional practitioner at work, then getting practically involved to apply these techniques. This involved strengthening a wide range of skills, from simple and practical communication skills, such as maintaining a focus on volume and vocal clarity when providing instructions so a group can all clearly hear, to the more complex, including swiftly and compassionately adapting activities to the needs of different group members. This could include converting a movement activity into one that can equally be performed from a seated position, to aid the safety and enjoyment for participants. Additionally, this project developed my understanding of how an effective workshop session runs. The Prime Time sessions are always an inclusive and collaborative environment, whereby the facilitator and members work together through the games, exercises and performance materials to create a sense of community and equality. This breaks down barriers between the session leader and the group, ensuring that all participants feel valued, and it is one of the key skills which I feel I will take away from my time on this project. Alongside assisting the weekly sessions, I also attended a meeting of the Prime Time advisory board, where members can discuss opinions on how the project is going and offer suggestions as to how it can continue to develop in the future. This provided me with a wonderful insight into how the members themselves find the Prime Time project benefits them and their community, affording me a better understanding of which elements of the sessions are most effective, and which could be creatively developed to better aid the specific requirements of the group and its individual members.

Also, preparations have been in full swing for The Duke’s annual Park Show, which for 2024 is Alice in Wonderland. An exciting element of the show this year has been the involvement of a Community Chorus, consisting of some members of the Lancaster and Morecambe Prime Time groups. The Community Chorus affords Prime Time members the opportunity to perform for the public, taking on characters including detectives and Wonderland ‘Card Guards’, guiding an audience through visible clues during the promenade portions of the show and assisting the ‘Queen of Hearts’ in key scenes. To prepare for this, Prime Time members have been working on Alice in Wonderland themed exercises in their weekly sessions, and the members participating in the show have been attending on-location rehearsals within Williamson Park in Lancaster. I have been assisting with this, not only by aiding the themed sessions in Morecambe, but also by attending the on-location rehearsals, relaying instructions to the group and ensuring that all Prime Time members feel comfortable and confident in their roles and responsibilities for the show. This has aided my understanding of how workshop facilitators adapt their approach to assist within preparations for performance, transforming skills of workshop leadership into helpful support to ensure safety and fun is had by all performers, backstage crew and public audiences.

Overall, I have found my experience working with Prime Time and the Alice in Wonderland Community Chorus to be hugely rewarding! Witnessing a community group who can be so often overlooked and undervalued come together to build friendships, enhance their creative mindsets and strengthen their self-belief has been an enriching experience. Also, hearing the stories of each Prime Time member, and why the group is so important to them, has allowed me to appreciate the vital nature of increasing access to arts initiatives in all areas of the wider community. Alongside this, working on the project has also strengthened my own skills of theatrical facilitation and has afforded me with the invaluable experience of working with a brilliant group of individuals. It has been an experience which I will never forget!