Northern Broadsides’ Board member and resident of Park Ward, Halifax, Safoora Masood reflects on the impact of Park Youth Theatre, our free acting group that inspires creativity and confidence for young people in one of Halifax’s most underserved communities.
In this personal blog, she shares how the project has grown into a thriving community where children can express themselves safely, build friendships and discover the transformative power of theatre.
Park Ward is one of the most deprived areas of Halifax, with high rates of drug, violence and crime.
Park Youth Theatre is an initiative by Northern Broadsides that encourages young children to take part in theatre, something that they have never experienced before. By being part of the Youth Theatre, we encourage children to express their emotions and feelings in a safe space while being creative and comfortable; allowing them to communicate in an artistic manner. These feelings that are usually deep rooted from different experiences in school and community, sometimes derived from troubled households and school bullying, are often left unappreciated and can lead to anxiety.
We offer a safe space for children from Park Ward to experience friendship, theatre, different vocal/movement exercises that builds their confidence and gives them a connection with peers. We started with zero children on our first session and with continuous determination have helped over 40 children to an ever increasing group – so much so that we had to change locations to accommodate the growing cohort.
We as a company, the children, and their parents have established a beautiful community that we hope to keep growing and showcasing, like we did at Eureka! last year, where the children performed a new piece on the stage based on The Iron Man story – learning about the importance of recycling and the repercussions of years of oil spills and global warming.
We cannot continue this journey of Youth Theatre without support and hope that you can see how our hard work and dedication is helping young minds; opening their eyes into the world of theatre and art keeping them off the streets in a safe environment.
Written by Safoora Masood
Photos below by Robling Photography
