When Michael Ockwell joined Mayflower Theatre as the Chief Executive ten years ago, he brought with him a passion for youth theatre and a goal to broaden the engagement of young people in the arts in Hampshire.
The main participatory event to achieve this aim was a Summer Youth Project – two-week project where 11–18-year-olds work with industry professionals to create a full-scale musical.
The inaugural Summer Youth Project was Bugsy Malone in 2013, which saw 225 young people take part and – due to its overwhelming success – saw the summer youth project became an annual occurrence.
Over the ten years they have had more than 1,250 participants, and this year 144 participants will be taking part in HONK! – which will mark 10 years of Summer Youth Project.
To celebrate the Summer Youth Project reaching 10 years, Mayflower Theatre will be celebrating with SYP 10: The BIG Reunion.
SYP 10: The BIG Reunion will be a special performance of this years Summer Youth Project, HONK!, which will be inviting all alumni Summer Youth Project participants to come back on Saturday 12 August for the matinee performance.
It will give all previous performers a chance to see old friends and experience the legacy that they helped create.
“I am delighted that our Summer Youth Projects have been such a success and engaged so many young people in the theatre and more broadly the arts,” says Michael. “We are very excited to have reached a decade of projects and look forward to welcoming many participants back for this very special event.”
Mayflower Theatre is calling all alumni participants who have taken part in any of the Summer Youth Projects to sign up on the JotForm: https://form.jotform.com/231304655128047.
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