Post written by: Sonia Thakurdesai
On the 4th of July we had a very special internal Doorstep event ‘Scratch and Share’ where we brought together Doorstep Youth Theatre, DAS Seniors and our Saturday Drama Seniors together with special guests from Company Three graduates and emerging artists Ellie & Pia visiting from London to perform a scratch of their show. We gathered with plentiful pizza in Palace Avenue’s Stage Left for an evening of inspiration, aspiration, and entertainment!
The evening was all about role-modeling for one another and planting the seeds to think about next steps- whether that be for our Seniors considering joining DYT or for our older participants leaving DYT and wanting to start making their own theatre in the outside world. Each group shared back some work-in-progress material, getting the chance to practice in front of an audience, get feedback and try things out in the safe and trusted space that is the Doorstep Community.
About Ellie & Pia
“The work we make is contemporary and based on a shared movement language to communicate relationships, support and conflict. Our work rarely takes inspiration from existing texts as we feel it is really important to be the representation in theatre we felt was missing when we were younger. We are both London based and have always been, although Pia recently moved out of Islington, it’s still a big part of our identity. We are both ex-members of Company Three, Pia joining when she was 11, and Ellie when she was 15. Company Three shaped us into the makers we are today.”
Company Three is a theatre company made up of 11-19yr olds based in North London. They make transformative theatre through long-term, intensive collaboration between young people and professional theatre-makers.
We massively appreciated Ellie and Pia coming to meet our groups and share their work. Not only is their art important for Torbay audiences as a narrative that doesn’t get much exposure but also for our groups to meet and chat to artists who have been through a similar youth theatre experience to them and are now taking forward their youth theatre experiences into creating work alongside adult working life. It’s rewarding for us to see the appreciation on the young people’s faces when they see theatre made by people they can relate to and it’s so important that they have this and see that it’s a possibility for them- that theatre doesn’t have to end once they leave our groups.
“My favourite thing about the scratch is the fact that you can be from any place, any age, and any race and still find a home in Theatre. Coming to Tour-bay,” [on tour in Torbay], “I was nervous, I thought people wouldn’t relate and I was wrong. Wherever you go when it comes to the Arts, you find a home and make connections you never thought were possible. I loved every performance and the welcoming energy of every person”- Ellie Benmore
“It was a fantastic time visiting Doorstep Arts and sharing with you all. We were re-inspired by how much fun everyone was having. We are really lucky to have been able to spend some time with you and all of the team including those who made us feel welcome. We left really excited about what we’d seen and done and hope to be able to work with you guys again! We were reminded of the first things we performed as a young people in a company like your own and realised that most of what we shared with you started a long time ago in a rehearsal room or scratch and share like this. How ideas that keep coming back should be listened to. Thank you for having us.” –Pia Richards
“I thought it was great. A lovely event that felt like a step above a usual session, but informal enough that any work shared was done so in a comfortable environment. It was lovely to have Ellie and Pia there, and that model of having guest artists coming to scratch with our regular groups is one that I really like! Having food is always a plus, and I always love an event that nearly the whole Doorstep team gather for.” – Sam Parker, Lead Artist at DYT
Lastly, I want to send a big thank you to everyone who was part of the event and lots of love to the Doorstep family. I’m always blown over by the love, generosity, and support shared between our various groups at these events and it’s an honour to be a part of it.
