In 2022, Youth Theatre Arts Scotland teamed up with the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities to carry out a research project into the long-term impacts of participation in youth theatre. Last week, we were delighted to publish our full report and eight brilliant case studies, which help to prove the life-changing impact of youth theatre on participants’ professional and personal lives.
We already knew, before starting out on our research journey, that youth theatre produces great performers and youth arts leaders. But we also wanted to know whether participating as a young person made for better teachers, doctors, and so on, so we had a particular interest in evidencing impact on those who went on to work in sectors unrelated to the performing arts.
We were delighted to be able to evidence a positive impact on participants’ confidence, emotional intelligence, resilience, teamwork and leadership skills, emotional wellbeing, and broadened horizons. These findings are now being communicated to key policymakers, funders, and network members, and YTAS hopes to use them to shape future planning and delivery in the youth theatre sector. We hope youth theatre organisations themselves will find the proof of their impact, as evidenced in our report, useful for funding applications and sparking ideas for future projects and collaborations.
The full report (including methodology, key findings and the full case studies) can be found here, and if you’re able to help us spread the word, our social media accounts have some posts suitable for sharing.