Theatre Works!

Believing access to live theatre should be for all, TheatreWorks! has found a way to fund theatre trips for schools. Susan Elkin found out more.

It isn’t often you find an organisation which is actively searching for more schools and disadvantaged children in order to fund theatre experience for those who would otherwise miss out. TheatreWorks! is a charity founded three years ago by Sharon Louise Studer and a group of colleagues. It operates in Britain and America. “In a way the pandemic worked in our favour”, she says, “because it gave us space to set it all up with the Charity Commission. Since then, in two years, we have given away 8000 tickets and want to give many more. We are very keen to expand.”

First the practicalities: “Schools applying have to be outside the M25 because there are other charities, working to get London-based children to the theatre. There is also a requirement that the school have a 30 % Pupil Premium rate, which effectively means a high take up of free school meals” says Sharon, adding they operate a similar policy in the US where the minimum is 40%. TheatreWorks! also supports SEND children and community groups. Tickets are either free or discounted.

Although schools have to be situated outside London to be eligible TheatreWorks! pays for transport and that includes into the capital from elsewhere. “We want children to be able to see the big London shows like Matilda, Wicked and The Lion King as well as going to Shakespeare’s Globe and the National Theatre” says Sharon. “At the same time, the charity actively wants to support regional theatre and it’s quite possible that the show you want to take your group to is only 10 miles down the road, but you’ll still be eligible if you fulfil the criteria.”

Sharon is aware that most funding applications are complicated and time consuming for busy teachers, so she and her colleagues have kept this one as simple as possible. “It’s less than two sides of A4. Download the form from our website – you can even fill it in with a pen and post it if that’s easiest for you” says Sharon.

The charity works with both schools and theatres and typically gives grants of £2,000 to schools and £5,000 to participating theatres. “We get good support from theatres” Sharon says. “For example, last year the producers of Wicked ran a campaign for Halloween and give us a percentage of ticket price and merchandise for the whole month.” So why are Sharon and her colleagues doing this? “Well, there’s a multitude of reasons, but fundamentally it came from love of theatre and a longstanding, passionate belief that access should be for everyone” she says. “We all know that theatre benefits children, but

I’ve been pulling up solid evidence to share with our donors and potential donors.

One study shows, for example, that if one group of children see a film and the other a live performance of the same work, then the theatre goers remember and retain more. I think it’s because live theatre is an active, participatory experience. Film is much more passive – and they are exposed to screens so much more these days anyway. Theatre pulls you in and develops empathy in a completely different way.”

Sharon also asserts that it doesn’t matter what the play or show is. “They all deal with universal experiences.”

TheatreWorks! obviously has to do a lot of fundraising. “Yes, that can be difficult because so many people see theatre as ‘mere’ entertainment and therefore expendable.” Sharon observes, after a recent discussion with the education director at Guthrie Theatre in her native Minneapolis, that maybe this is “our” fault. “We have let people regard theatre as entertainment for too long, whereas in fact it’s so much more.”

I wonder whether the US has a more enlightened attitude to giving to charity than the UK? “Well, the UK comes out pretty well” says Sharon, but explains that in America tax breaks encourage giving, as does the prevalence of active religious commitment in communities. Attitudes are different.

For Sharon the work is immensely rewarding. “We took a group of SEND children to see a Shakespeare play at The Globe and they were really engaged. The teacher had clearly done a huge amount of careful preparation. Because of the nature of the group there were a lot of parents present (and we fund accompanying adults too). One mother of a dyslexic child could hardly believe how well he knew the play and how much he’d enjoyed it. For us, those reactions were very emotional”. TheatreWorks!

One study shows… that if one group of children see a film and the other a live performance of the same work, then the theatre goers remember and retain more.

Registered Charity no 1193084