The Oracle Project

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Islington Youth Theatre were runners up at the Spirt of London Awards 2009

The bulk of Islington Community Theatre's work is created through our four young companies - comprising around 150 permanent members aged 10-19.

We also run ad hoc and bespoke projects according to local need, interest and in response to specific commissions and are developing a bespoke training and mentoring programme for young theatre-makers aged 19-25 who have previously been involved in our work.

All of our company members are offered their places on the basis of how much they'll benefit from being involved. We work in collaboration with schools, colleges and other local agencies to reach people who would never normally become involved in theatre projects.

It is really important to us that our companies are made up of young people from the widest possible backgrounds.

Every year, we help more than 50 young people in Year 6 and 7 to manage the transition from primary to secondary school in our weekly Oracle Project workshops.

Our two Oracle projects, both directed by Ola Ince and Tina Ramdeen, are based at local partner secondary schools - Islington Arts and Media School and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Language College for Girls. They are attended by boys and girls aged 10-12 from 12 different Islington primary schools.

Primary schools nominate students who they think might find moving into Year difficult, while the two secondary schools provide Year 7 mentors. It's a chance for the Year 5 and 6 students to get used to coming regularly to a secondary school environment, to make friends and - really importantly - to learn key performance skills and make great theatre.

The Oracle Machine was a dream-recording machine in one of our first plays, Success, which we performed at the National Theatre in 2009.

For more information about the Oracle Project, please contact Tina Ramdeen, Oracle Project Co-ordinator.

There are two Oracle Projects:

The IAMS Oracle Project

Our original project started in January 2009 and currently involves young people from Islington Arts and Media School and its feeder primary schools in Finsbury Park. Previous productions include the original Oracle Project at Pleasance Theatre in March 2009 and the Yellow Hearted Butterfly Spook Circus, created in collaboration with the acclaimed Children's Author Leander Deeney as part of the Tangled Festival.

The EGA Oracle Project

Launched with a 3 day intensive pilot project in July 2010, the EGA Oracle Project's first showing was I See Me. The Project now runs as an after school group at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Language College and is our only all-female Oracle company.