A Look Inside New Visions/New Voices

Transforming the Development of New Plays For Young People.

New Visions/New Voices is described as “a week-long biennial workshop/festival for playwrights and theaters to stimulate and support the creation of new plays and musicals for young audiences and families.” Hosted by the Kennedy Center Education Division (USA), this international exchange programme invites Playwrights from all over the world to submit their work for Young Audiences. This programme has brought countless Artists together to explore and collaborate with one another, creating a space for them to network and extend their reach of influence.

On Saturday, May 27th, 2017, a panel discussion was held as part of the ASSITEJ Cradle of Creativity that explored the successes of this initiative to promote and encourage Theatre Makers for Young Audiences.

At this session in Cape Town, participants recounted how “[New Visions/New Voices] gives writers space to focus on the writing.” Another described it as “an exciting process. It was something that I had never experienced before in my life as a writer.” “I feel like I went to New Visions/New Voices as a Theatre Maker”, one person commented, “I came out as a Playwright.”

Victoria is a Theatre-Maker with experience in Theatre-in-Education, Directing, Acting and creating Community Theatre. She is passionate about all aspects of Theatre and its ability to enact positive change. Victoria has been involved in many creative projects across the UK, and is interested in Community Performance practice around the world. Recent projects in the UK include: facilitating a project with 20/20 Youth theatre with LL/D teenagers for Reading Rep, helping to devise and perform interactive shows for children with Chickenshed’s Tales from the Shed programme, and teaching Drama in Southwark Inclusive Learning Service (SILS) for children who have been excluded from mainstream school.