Gallery

Visible FictionsGiant ProductionsBank of Scotland Imaginate FestivalWee StoriesCatherine Wheels Theatre Company

“I think it’s great to have the one site, the place to go to, because that used to be my issue before. Through Young Audiences Scotland I have found out about organisations I didn’t know existed.”
Parent, research participant

“It’s easier to get it all in the one email. I didn’t work much in the three years after I had my daughter and I felt very out of the loop. You kind of lose touch. So it’s nice just to read one email and find out what’s on.”
Parent, research participant

Young Audiences Scotland

A package of audience profiling, benchmarking and ongoing evaluation was provided to the Young Audience Scotland consortium – Catherine Wheels, the Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival, Giant, TAG Theatre Company, Visible Fictions and Wee Stories – to support the first year of an audience development collaboration between the children and young people’s theatre sector organisations.

'Young Audience Scotland' – a megaphone for the vibrancy and variety of theatre for children, young people and families in Scotland.

For the first time in Scotland, six leading producers of theatre for children and young people joined forces to harness their combined strengths, skills and reputations to achieve a greater understanding of their audiences and the potential to develop them. With support from the Scottish Arts Council, The YAS consortium – Catherine Wheels, the Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival, Giant, TAG Theatre Company, Visible Fictions and Wee Stories, worked collaboratively to disseminate audience development best practice not only for their benefit but for the sector in Scotland as a whole. Project co-ordinator, Sally Wilson, enrolled Culture Sparks’ research and intelligence services to support the first year of YAS.

Key information about audiences was required during the early stages of the project and we examined the attenders of each of the organisations involved. This, in addition to research with audiences, sector representatives, educators and partners, allowed the consortium to make both tactical and strategic audience development decisions, establish individual and collective benchmarking totals and instigate sector-wide initiatives that could not have been achieved by the individual companies alone.

The development of a ‘Young Audiences Scotland’ website and monthly e-newsletter allowed Culture Sparks direct access to those who were benefiting from the YAS initiative. Site visitors and e-news subscribers were encouraged to give their feedback about YAS through an online survey and a cross-section of those who responded were invited to take part in a focus group.

The YAS concept was warmly received and Culture Sparks monitored ‘audience development’ progress over a twelve-month period and assisted the consortium to develop continuation strategies at the end of the initial funding period.