Post written by: Erin Walcon
In Summer 2019, we ran our third annual exchange project with Beyond Face, a Plymouth-based company. This annual summer exchange of new writing by young people is made possibly the International Agatha Christie Festival.
The Doorstep project took place at Torre Abbey – it was the perfect venue, and we loved sprawling over the mansion house, historic grounds, Learning Lab, and Undercroft spaces. (The Undercroft has excellent acoustics for musc, BTW!)
Our theme was What Are You Fighting For? and the young people worked with professional writers and Teaching Artists Sam Parker (Downstage Write), Rebecca Dobson (Little Theatre Youth), Jade Campbell and Erin Walcon. We were inspired by the book I Am Thunder and I Won’t Keep Quiet by Young Adult writer Muhammed Khan.
This summer, we ran two different age groups – and we specifically worked with young songwriters as well, which was enriching for the project.
Video/Audio of the songs
- Video of Taz and Nina’s song – last day of August intensive
- Audio of ‘I Am Thunder, I Didn’t Care’ – layering writing from 4-5 participants over some music backing
- Longer process video of rehearsal, including Taz teaching group chorus
- I Am Thunder (Taz & Joe)
- Is It Too Late(Joe & Hayley)
- Snow is Falling (James & James)
- Girl on the Train (Yuly & Hayley)
- We All Stay Silent (Taz)
The final Q&A session with Muhammed Khan was a really special opportunity, and it was a joy to share work alongside Beyond Face. This summer exchange is a really important opportunity to value young writers, their voices, stories, and craft. The young people we worked with this year were exceptional – what a privilege!