The first step towards a new career is often the hardest. Where do you start? Who do you contact? And do you have the skills? But don't fret. The Barbican Theatre in Plymouth is ready to offer some help. "Kicking Arts" is a new course that offers a helping hand to young people who are interested in working in the arts. The idea of the course is to introduce young people to the wide range of opportunities within the theatre - from sound and lighting to stage management to administration.  | | Clara with course tutor Kate Reed |
Former student Clara, who has just finished the ten week course - believes it has changed her life for the better. "My self-confidence improved enormously" she said "and I've regained my faith in myself in being able to learn things - in a way that isn't stressful. "I think the best thing about it is that the group sizes are quite small - so you get a lot of individual attention. "It can be quite hard if you're in a large group. My focus was technical theatre - sound - but I tried lots of other things", she said. The course is just an introduction - and it's structured to inspire the students to plan for their future. Clara continued: "Now I've decided that I am going to start a diploma in creative music technology - which will hopefully lead onto a three year course in technical theatre.  | | The course is aimed at 15 - 25 year olds |
"I don't think I'd ever have found out about this if I hadn't done the course. It's made me know that I can do stuff again." The course is co-ordinated by the Barbican's Access and Education Officer Kate Reed."It's a fantastic course" she said, "It's brilliant." "People change, people come out with real self-esteem and they come out with a real understanding of what they'd like to do - and also what they don't want to do. "It's really exciting working with people who may have never come across the arts before. The change in people is enormous because the arts do provide people with understanding about themselves." The Barbican runs three ten week courses every year. If you are interested in finding out more, contact Kate Reed at the Barbican on 01752 242018.
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