This is an advert for April 2022. Any shares/edits beyond this date have not been asked or paid for.
Mortal Fools is an award-winning theatre, drama and creative learning charity based in Northumberland.
This year, Mortal Fools celebrates their 10th birthday. They have already achieved so much in this past decade including collaborating with young people to help create a Coronaviris Time Capsule and working with young people on the fantastic 'When the World is Loud'.
But as you can expect, there is much more to come and Mortal Fools will be celebrating their big birthday in style with lots of events, performances, digital content and new groups being launched this year. Sign up to the Mortal Fools' mailing list here to be kept in the loop.
This post will share why Mortal Fools should be on your radar, especially if you are a young person's parent/carer or interested in the issues young people face today.
5 Reasons Why Mortal Fools Should Be On Your Radar
1 - Youth Theatre Groups
Mortal Fools run several Youth Theatre Groups across the region. Currently based in Ashington, Prudhoe and online, these groups are suitable for young people aged 7-19 years old.
In these sessions, young people will work with professionals to develop their theatre making and performance skills. No experience is neccessary and all are welcome. There are just three lovely rules members are expected to follow:
1- Be Kind
2 - Be Brave
3 - Be Yourself
Mortal Fools is now taking applicants for their exciting next project. You can sign up for a FREE taster session and discover more about what to expect here.
The benefits of joining a Youth Theatre Group with Mortal Fools include:
- A chance to make new friends
- Building confidence
- A place to express ideas and opinions
- Become more resiliant and have more empathy for others
- Improve creativity
- Have fun, unwind and let go!
2 - Fantastic Productions to Experience with Young People
I have been lucky to experience a couple of productions by Mortal Fools over the years and I always leave feeling inspired, thoughtful and incredibly proud of the talent in our region.
What really stands out in their productions is how the voices of local young people, and the issues they face/would like to share, are at the very heart of every production.
As a parent of young people myself, I always find the work by Mortal Fools to be relatable and something I needed to hear (whether I knew I needed to hear it or not).
Whether this be the online resources for Melva which help young people understand and manage their anxiety, When the World is Loud which was an audio piece and helped us reflect on the pandemic or the more recent production of Flux which is an original piece devised by young people in Northumberland around the issues of figuring yourself and who you want to be out, the quality of work Mortal Fools produce is always second to none.
3 - Flux
I just want to take a bit of time to talk about Mortal Fools' most recent production 'Flux'. I popped along to YMCA Ashington with Dee to watch this in the Easter Holidays.
Sometimes watching original theatre with tweens and teens can be a bit of a risk. Will they find it lame? Will it be too babyish? Will it be uncomfortable and awkward? Will it go over their heads? Will they be bored? Will my teens roll their eyes when someone breaks into song?
It can't just be that worries about these things. Finding something that is pitched just right for this age group can be very tricky indeed.
Flux gets it 100% spot on. You can clearly see that young people are at the very heart of this production. The jokes were actually funny (to both myself and Dee) and we both nodded along as we watched the characters we could relate to being played out on stage.
From the teacher who tries to be your cool friend, to the person in your circle who is a couple of years older and just seems beyond cool to the person who tries too hard to fit in and the mam who tries their best to show they are accepting (maybe a little too hard) or the dad who is stuck in his ways and thinks that getting a job at the council is the best way to navigate all of life's problems, the characters were brilliant and sometimes a little too familiar to people we know in real life too.
The grandad who just wants to sit by the beach eating fishing chips and offer a listening ear with no judgement or advice was just the sweetest. I hope I can learn to be more like him.
Flux is based around the story of a group of teens who are trying to figure it all out. What do they want to be in life?
It gives the audience a window into some of the pressures young people are facing today.
It was a brilliant reminder to me of how I felt life was like when I was a teen and a good insight into the pressures my own teens may be feeling with a few helpful pointers on how best to navigate these too.
It was an uplifting and empowering performance that left us feeling positive. The key point is, you don't have to have it all figured out. Just be yourself. It also led myself and Dee to have a really good chat together on the way home which was nice.
Flux will be available in digital form soon. I'd definitely recommend trying to take some time to watch if you are the parent/carer of young people (and watch it with them). Sign up to the Mortal Fools' mailing list to be the first to hear about when it will be available.
Quite often when we go to the theatre, especially when we see a show which is touring the UK, it can feel like we don't see ourselves represented on stage. However I know with Flux that Dee could recognise themselves through their peers on stage and this made everything so much more relaxed and relatable.
I couldn't help but think as we watched Flux that these young people from Ashington were incredibly talented and I don't want to sound condescending but I did think they were brave too. I would really struggle to perform in front of a packed theatre and I felt so proud of them. The quality of the performance was excellent and the whole experience was inspiring.
Dee is going to be performing in a school production next term and I know they are feeling a little nervous. It's the first time they will have done something like this. I know they will have taken some of what they saw on stage during Flux and channel it into their own performance.
2024 Update - You can now watch Flux at home and there is a resource pack available to support discussion around the film. Watch/find out more here: Flux Digital
4 - Coming Soon........Digital Interludes
Digital Interludes is a feast of digital content, co-created by young people and artists, which is due to premier next month.
You can expect film shorts, animations, events and downloads. The content can be consumed all at once or dipped in and out of in bitesize chunks.
Designed for ages 11+ or anyone interested in the issues facing young people today, Digital Interludes in a culmination of work by young people from covid impacted projects over the past year.
Expect stories of real human connection, reimagined futires and shared lessons. Digital Interludes will amplify the voices of young people and sounds really interesting. I'll be tuning in.
If you're interested, subscribe to the Mortal Fools' YouTube channel here and click the little bell button next to the subscribe button to swich alerts on. You'll be alerted when content is live.
5 - FREE Creative Careers Event
Are you considering a career or working in the arts and culture sector?
Join Mortal Fools & friends from their network to hear industry tips and what they wish they'd known when they were just starting out in this FREE digital networking event. This event is suitable for young people aged 13+ and adults.
Designed to be as accessible as possible, closed captions will be enabled and you can have your camera switched off and participate as much or little as you'd like. No pressure!
The event will include contributions from production managers, magazine editors, creative agencies, animators, film makers, young leaders, writers, directors, theatre set designers and more. Quite a diverse bunch and everyone works here in the North East.
If you're interested in working in arts and culture, this is the perfect opportunity to gain some real insight into the industry and ask questions too.
The event takes place on 23 May 2022 from 5pm-7pm and is free to attend with donations welcome. Mortal Fools is a charity working with young people and all donations go into the work they provide.
Find out more and sign up here.
As you can see, Mortal Fools really do some incredible work in the community and I have seen first hand the difference they have made to young people in our community whether this be with them starring in a production they helped to create on stage, as an audience member feeling inspired or understood or as a parent who is thankful to have a decent set of accessible resources available to help navigate a range of issues facing our young people today.
This is just a small snippet of the important work they carry out. And of course, there is a lot more to come too.
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