ARTS FACILITATION
I am an educator, creative facilitator and mentor, with experience of designing and facilitating arts programmes for young people, teaching video-making and creative writing skills, and using these frameworks to allow participants to explore and discuss their personal stories and journeys. I have also worked with children and teenagers since 2009 as an English teacher in classroom settings, and since 2015 in Alternative Provision, working one-to-one with children who have required home schooling. I have extensive experience of working with students with SEN, behavioural complexities, and those living in challenging circumstances. I take pride in creating strong relationships with young people based on honesty, effectiveness, and humour. I have completed Level 3 Counselling Skills as a means of working more therapeutically with those I come into contact with.
I have facilitated groups of young people in filmmaking and writing for charity partners such as BFI Academy, Girls Friendly Society, Worth Unlimited and Eastside Educational Trust. I’ve also set up my own free filmmaking and writing groups with help from Waltham Forest Council.
Girls Friendly Society is a feminist youth charity for girls to learn about themselves and their place in the world. I delivered a creative writing workshop at their Hackney branch, centred around ‘place’ and what places are precious to us and why. We explored the details of our favourite places in writing, movement and pictures. We then looked at creating a story of our place using a storyboard, which we acted out in groups for each other.
You were great! The girls had an amazing time and enjoyed the experience. We'd love to do something else again in the future- if you are open to it :) - REBECCA THOMAS, GFS
This was an incredible opportunity to design and lead a course that would best prepare students to make a film and learn more about fulfilling various roles in the industry, from Writer/Director to Gaffer. Working with young people who would not ordinarily be able to access such a course, gave rise to some incredible ideas, scripts, and team cohesion.
I organised masterclasses with professionals in Production Design, career development and editing, led and co-led sessions on pre-production, camera operation and health and safety, and led the pastoral and day to day management of the cohort, alongside filmmaker Simon Leplar.
“The teaching sessions... expanded my knowledge of the media industry and I was able to experience what it would be like to be on sets. The teaching sessions were an incredible experience.” - MADINA S
BFI is the UK’s national film organisation, with BFI Academy being their educational arm, aiming to develop skills and prepare young people for careers in the screen industries. The program is designed to be accessible, with bursaries available to cover costs like travel and access needs. I led the course for twenty 16-19 year olds in the Barking and Dagenham area of London, to make a short film and learn about entering the industry in a range of roles, whilst completing a qualification that would prepare them for further training and work.
May Half Term Film Course at Leyton’s Family Hub was a free course I provided for local young residents. I loved working with this small group to re-create a scene from the film It’s Kind of a Funny Story. I brought in DoPs Alvin Burrell and Gergana Popova to teach the students how to use a professional grade camera and sound equipment, and I and a local actor played in the scene to give them a chance to shoot.
“ I appreciate you taking the time out for our curious minds, and for managing to provide us with such erudite people” - SARAH R
Worth Unlimited is a youth charity focussed on creating hubs in hard-to-reach areas such as Priory Court in Walthamstow, where I led two holiday sessions of writing workshops for local teenagers. These classes drew on the young people’s interest in improv, group discussion, and warm-ups which put them at ease. Group discussions around our goals, disappointments, needs and wants, through the lens of 'our lives as our story'' gave opportunities for participants to share in a safe space.
It is an important part of my role on these projects to know how much to direct and manage, and how much to let the filmmakers find their own way. There is much to be gained by letting teenagers make their own mistakes and learn the hard way - and some insist on it! I’m always questioning how to create the best learning environment that gives participants the satisfaction of truly making their own film, as well as the joy of a well-made piece of work.
I mentored a group of filmmakers completing a BFI Academy course for Eastside Educational Trust who were producing the script Sixteen Candles. They had to work out their shot lists, manage their location, and deal with some serious deadlines.
I have delivered several courses for Young Film Academy, who provide film courses for children and teenagers that allow them to make films in complete immersion alongside artist-practitioners. These courses take place at Chelsea Academy and we have a wild time running around an empty school, making bonkers films about heists, murders and mistaken identities. My role during these courses is to facilitate training in story writing, sound and camera operation, and pre-production for around twenty 14-17 year olds, before accompanying them in the production of a film. We have had some wonderful premieres at the BFI and the connections, inspirations and career paths that have been carved out on these courses have not been insignificant.
At Young Film Academy I also lead courses for younger children aged 10-13, where the focus tends more towards acting and I take more of the camera and sound responsibilities! It’s wonderful to see what stories come to the surface, whether they be time-travelling santa clauses or high school art heists. Getting kids to think in images, to choose shot frames and sizes, and to conceive of a story with a communicable premise, is a great foundation for all types of art forms.
ArtsXChange in London Islington - formerly known as Wac Arts College - provides alternative education through a Performing Arts and Media curriculum. Whilst here I worked on the Supported Internships of the 16+ students, who were all building portfolios in their chosen arts career. I mentored a screenwriter to complete his first TV series, a singer-songwriter to make music videos, and a comic book obsessive to write her own animated short film.
I spent two years at another Alternative Provision, All City Arts College, continuing on the Supported Internship scheme with Cy Henty. The Axis scheme mentored one young dancer and costume maker to work alongside Paraiso samba school to make carnival costumes, as well as learn jewellery making, and filmmaking with myself. Together we devised a documentary to record her experiences taking part in various carnivals and her love of dance and costume design.
I love leading groups through film theory, scriptwriting and visual grammar, not to mention camera operation, editing and sound design. Watching them pool their ideas and come up with a script, a shot list and a production plan and use so much initiative is wonderful and takes me back to my early days!
Teachers were very entertaining,knowledgeable and funny. Both need a
raise.
(I'm not payed to say this) - Milo B
I also love teaching story - talking about what makes a good story opens up stories of our own lives and I have been thrilled to see how these classes can also become safe spaces for young people to talk about life events and how they have been affected by them. Talking about past events in terms of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s journey - and getting what we need from life rather than what we want - is a useful lens for teenagers to consider when dealing with life’s various ups and downs.
With a history of anxiety issues (seeking an ADHD, ASD assessment), I found that the tutors put me at ease and made me feel condent and encouraged to share my ideas. The tutors made their instructions very clear which was reassuring - Isabel N