Have a Go

Are you a school or educational institution and would like to collaborate with In Character?

Why not apply for Have a Go - a new fund by Arts Council Wales for learners aged 3-16 years to have a go at a hands-on activity or workshop that focuses on the expressive arts

What is Have a Go?

It's a new fund for learners aged 3-16 years to have a go at a hands-on activity or workshop that focuses on the expressive arts in and out of school settings.

How can In Character support my school to Have a Go?

In Character are eager to collaborate with your school to develop a programme of activities which gives your pupils the opportunity to explore a story or character from Welsh history before developing their own skills as theatre makers as they continue to tell the tale themselves.

What exactly does this entail?

We're flexible to your needs, but as inspiration, here's an example of what's possible, based on a Have a Go project that we developed with Ysgol Coed y Gof in Cardiff.

The programme was held over 4 days within one week, and contained the following three primary elements:

A performance of an In Character interactive theatre production, introducing a story from Welsh history for up to 60 pupils.
The opportunity to collaborate with a theatre practitioner to create three scenes from the theme that's being studied (our facilitator worked with three groups, with up to 20 children in each group). The scenes were scripted in advance to fit the needs of each group.
A performance of the three scenes - either to fellow school pupils, or to members of the school community at the end of the project.

We encourage teachers to support the activity by assisting pupils to prepare for the performance at any time when they are not working directly with the practitioner. It is also an excellent opportunity to create art-work alongside the production (by creating props and set elements). You may also wish to include mathematical elements by making pupils responsible for the production's budget, or develop their digital skills by taking the lead in marketing the production.

Our team at In Character would work alongside your school to ensure that your specific needs are met, whilst also presenting your pupils (and teaching staff!) with an excellent opportunity to be professional theatre makers.

How much does this cost?

The activity can be one session or can be held over a series of days. The fund offers grants of up to £1,500. All state-maintained schools and pupil referral units in Wales for learners aged 3-16 years can apply for funding.

Where can I get further information about Have a Go?

Full guidance, as well as information about how to make an application can be found on the Arts Council Wales' Dysgu Creadigol webpage.

Great! What do I need to do next?

Please contact us to arrange a chat so that we can discuss how we may be able to co-create a challenging, inspiring and fun experience which will support your school in delivering the Expressive Arts Area of Learning and Experience.

‘On our part, as a school, the whole thing worked brilliantly. The first session inspired the children and ensured that their interest was captured. Then, the process of creating their masterpiece with Anwen. We also had parents in, who enjoyed watching it so much.

The whole programme was a wonderful way to bring our topic to a close.'

Sera Edwards, Ysgol Coed y Gof, Cardiff