Prior to your groups performance night, they will have a technical rehearsal scheduled in at the theatre. We will also provide lighting and cue sheets for the techs to use for your performance. We encourage all groups to have a regular slot at their school or organisation to rehearse.
Once all booking forms are received, we will work on a timetable of workshops and let you know your slot in good time before the workshop date.
The Epstein Theatre is accessible, with a lift to access on and off the stage. Merseyside Youth Association is also an accessible building and therefore the workshops that take place there are also accessible. Please let us know either on your booking form or registration forms if you have any young people that require additional support or have any additional needs we need to be aware of.
The festival is aimed for young people aged 9-19 years. If you have any queries about this, please let us know!
Tickets for the NOW Festival Performance Evenings are £6.50 each. They will go on sale later on in the year. Keep checking our website for updates.
Ideally if you have someone within your organisation that has a performance arts background to work with the group then this will help, however don’t let this stop you from entering a group in to the festival, as each group that enters will be assigned a RAISE Team mentor for the festival. Your mentor will come and visit you and your group to help you devise and develop your piece and ensure the mental health message is clear, and ultimately that you feel supported.
This has been done previously, however this will depend on how many schools or organisations sign up to the festival. Please get in touch with the festival organisers at nowfestliv@mya.org.uk to enquire about this.
The maximum number of young people in a group is 15.
NOW Festival 2018 will take place at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool, which has a great stage to perform on. Your piece can be anything performance arts related; for example; Drama, Dance, Film, Music, Spoken Word, Rap, Poetry etc. If you have any other ideas – just let us know!
The main aim of the NOW Festival is to use creative arts to give young people a platform to talk about mental health, and the chosen NOW Theme. The piece should be focused around these key elements, ensuring that the mental health message is clear and related to the NOW theme. The RAISE Team will support you with this, and you will get lots of information during the 2 workshops and visits.
The performance should be no longer than 15 minutes.
The NOW Festival process starts in September with a launch night where you will get information on the NOW Festival and a chance to ask any questions. Following the launch between September and December, there will be 2 workshop days you can attend to support you with devising and developing your pieces. You will then work with your group to devise the piece with our support. The Festival then takes place during children’s mental health week in February. After the festival, some pieces then get the opportunity to tour to other schools to spread the message of their piece even further!