North East Deaf Youth Theatre: Community Champion

North East Deaf Youth Theatre is led by Unfolding Theatre Creative Associate, EJ Raymond.

NE Deaf Youth Theatre aims to support deaf children and young people to develop their creative skills, build confidence and form new friendships. Together with deaf arts organisation, Turtl ar, workshops explore theatre-making, creative writing, storytelling, acting, lighting and backstage skills to create performances to share with friends and family.

NE Deaf Youth Theatre has been running since Summer 2022. We run monthly Saturday sessions and a summer camp. Our 2023 summer camp attracted 20 children and young people. Around 8-10 children attend monthly sessions. The group are aged 5-11. Workshops take place at Gosforth Civic Theatre.

Workshops are led by EJ Raymond. EJ is profoundly deaf and a BSL user and graduated from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow in 2018 (BA Performance). EJ is an actor, writer and founder of Turtl ar.

Members of the group use a mixture of speech and BSL. A BSL interpreter supports each workshop.

You can find out more and see photos and videos at https://www.unfoldingtheatre.co.uk/north-east-deaf-youth-theatre

Dates & what it would involve

Workshop dates:

9.30-11.30am on 3rd Saturday of the month plus a summer camp in July 2025.

We are looking for deaf creatives to support the sessions at our North East Deaf Youth Theatre. This would include planning and leading a creative activity as part of the workshop, and supporting EJ to deliver creative activities.

We are also looking to support deaf creatives to develop their skills – for example by creating social media campaigns to advertise the sessions, or supporting the Unfolding Theatre team with planning events and activities to deepen our relationships with the deaf community in the North East.

Fee

£90 per half-day, and up to 18 half-days spread across the year (June 2025 – March 2026).