Momentum Small Grant helps young people to put on a great show

In January 2022, St George's Theatre applied for a Momentum activity grant of £750 to use towards their production of the popular musical We Will Rock You at Easter 2022. Thanks to the grant they were able to put together a great a show that young people loved being part of. This wonderful case study shows just how Momentum grants can be used to enhance the experiences of young people and allow them to express themselves within their passions.

St George's Theatre is a drama and musical theatre group that works with 6 – 19-year-olds and focuses on creating, designing, and showcasing performances for the public. They have professional practitioners working with the young people to teach theatre skills including acting, dancing, and singing. They also offer a professional venue with a working technical crew, that allows the young people to explore all aspects of production, involving lighting, design, and stage management.

For their production of We Will Rock You, they were being supported by Norfolk Music Hub to offer singing tuition and musical direction and wanted to engage a professional choreographer to match the standard of the work. St George's also needed support to provide costumes and sets for the production.

Young Commissioners from the Great Yarmouth Youth Advisory Board reviewed the grant application and voted unanimously to award the funding, and the payment was made swiftly after the application was received.

The 38 young people worked every Tuesday evening towards this production but also concentrated on weekend workshops and a full technical week during the first week of the Easter holidays, leading to 4 performances in the second week.

Here are some quotes taken directly from the young people who took part in the production:

• “Such a great community and made so many new friends of many different ages that I have stayed in contact with since the play”
• “Learned so much confidence and performance skills. Learned how to change my voice when using a microphone and helped me to perform in a better way than before”
• “I learned how to sing a solo and be a part of a full-scale musical production on stage with a public audience”
• “Made friends, people were dedicated, it was just fun. Made new memories”
• “I learned to sing to act on stage to quick change to be confident to act in front of people”
• “Made lots of new friends and memories”
• “It developed my confidence and allowed me to learn different songs and moves”
• “It allowed me to be a part of a team and harmonised in a large group”
• “I liked making friends, the musical, and being part of a team”

Find out more about Momentum Small Grants on our website.