I would like to take a moment, to reflect on what has been a record breaking, and award winning, year for Artz Centre students and staff. As an organisation, we have achieved more in the last twelve months than similar groups would achieve in 10 years.
At the start of each year, I like to identify areas for growth and development, and on the agenda in 2018 were 3 key areas…
Firstly, I wanted us to produce a full-scale production with our youngest cohort of students (aged 4 to 7); a production that would challenge both cast and crew, and provided us with an opportunity to see what was possible if we set the bar high enough. In October, our hard work came to fruition as our Infant Drama students, lead by new director Claire McEvoy, presented The Jungle Book to four packed audiences at The Artz Centre. The production became the benchmark for all future productions for our infants and it’s fantastic to see the group already flourishing in 2019.
So, from our youngest students, to perhaps the biggest challenge of the year… came my second area for development; in the form of our brand new Adult Drama session. I always felt that we were missing a trick not having anything for adults at the Centre, and although some people thought it was nothing more than a wind up, I was deadly serious about the task on which I was about to embark.
I had long since realised that we needed to create a session for our oldest students who where coming to the end of their time in the Senior Academy cohorts, but I also hoped to find local talented and passionate adults with an invested interest in the Centre, who would eventually become part of our growing team. And, perhaps the biggest reason to do it; was knowing the profound impact that our work has on the people who access it. I felt that there were surely people in our community that could benefit from some of that positive impact, too. So, after securing some funding from West Lancs College to support an adult cohort of students; an idea became a reality. The debut Adult Drama show, entitled Old Dogs, New Tricks was also staged in October at The Artz Centre, and I couldn’t be more proud of what our newest recruits produced. I am looking forward to seeing what is next for Artz Adultz.
My final area for development in 2018, was the introduction of an accreditation scheme. After a lot of research into the best platform to use, we entered into a relationship with Rock School Ltd. and the “Artz Exam Class” was born; offering industry-recognised, graded qualifications in the Performing Arts.
I wanted the students to have something tangible to show for their hard work and commitment to the arts, and I wanted to contribute to them being able to pursue their future dreams. I always knew that the standard of our tuition was high, but I was keen to prove it. So, when the Exam Class of 2018 took to the stage in September, I felt nervous and anxious for the first time in a long time… and I loved it. The results where unprecedented, and for me, it was surely one of the highlights of the year. The Exam Class is now fully subscribed for another year and we look forward to helping our students climb the ladder to success once more.
We absolutely delivered on our three target areas in 2018, whilst seeing substantial growth in all other areas of the business. This year I will be highlighting 3 more areas for development, and I am excited to see what the future holds.
I have always said to my team, “Before you do anything for me, or the students – you must first and foremost do it for you” and I can honestly say that each and every one them have done themselves proud this year. Thank you for the incredible contribution you have made in 2018…