One feature of society that is true and sad is the segregation of people with children from those without, says Cathy Westbrook.Theatre has generally been seen as a place for ?non-children people?. However, the ?Theatre for Families? project, started in June last year and running until the end of 2002, aims to make a small contribution to tackling some of the attitudes towards children, families and theatre.
Seven venues across Kent, East and West Sussex and Surrey have committed themselves to improving their services to families. Through focus groups (including children themselves) they have been finding out what families want or need. They are then introducing new services to try to increase the number of performances suitable for families. These venues are making a start in reaching a huge and previously untapped potential market and are recording their experiences with a view to helping other venues.
The project involves several other activities. A website (http://www.theatreforfamilies.net) has been created to help families plan their theatre visits better, giving clear details about the facilities at the theatre they want to go to. Family-friendly awards are currently stirring up competitive instincts amongst participating venues and are to be judged this month by a panel including theatre critic Lyn Gardner. Training by Playtrain (http://www.playtrn.demon.co.uk) has been organised and has included sessions for participating venues, front of house staff and artists interested in working with children in early years settings.
The issues raised have been fascinating and we are now planning events later in the year to allow discussion of these themes in more detail. Themes which are emerging are:
? Practicalities: what facilities should we provide? Do we need a child protection policy?
? Attitudes: how do we make sure all our staff have a positive attitude to children? How do we make sure parents and non-parents are equally comfortable?
? Artistic: are there enough good shows for all age ranges? Does quality equal worthy or can we have fun and get away from the schools agenda?
? Philosophical: how can we encourage families to talk about and really share the experience of watching theatre?
Cathy Westbrook is Co-ordinator of the Theatre for Families project and is Director of Arts Projects at FutureDream Media, an arts and new media consultancy. t: 01303 258985; e: cathy@futuredream.net; w: http://www.futuredream.net