Young people at the heart of our work

Monday is a landmark day for Islington Community Theatre.  It's the first day for four of our newest staff members - four Young Associates, who'll be joining us for a year.

The Young Associates are Angie Peňa Arenas, Daniel Rickler, Hannah Timson and Kered Figaro.  They're all 18-21, three of them (all except Hannah) have been involved with ICT for three years and they've all find themselves stuck between the end of college and the rest of their lives.

Their time with us is designed to help them discover and take that crucial next step - whether it's back into education or into work.  They'll be learning how to make their own work as producers and theatre-makers, starting by programming and producing a brand new show in December (more on this soon).

The four new recruits beat off competition from more than 30 others and are really excited about starting.  Kered, 19, says:

This is a fantastic opportunity. I would never have thought about working in the theatre until I met Ned and became a member at Islington Community Theatre. No one from where I grew up would consider theatre as an industry that they could be part of.  I can't wait!

The four Young Associates will be blogging on this website throughout their time with us and there'll be lots more information about them on the Young Associates page once they've started.

Ned has also blogged about the new project here.

The Young Associates training programme is generously funded by the Cripplegate Foundation, the Morris Charitable Trust, the John Thaw Foundation and Knight Frank Islington.