STEP Festival

The STEP Festival is a celebration of theatre for and by young people throughout Southwark. STEP stands for Southwark Theatres’ Education Partnership.

STEP has recently become an independent organisation, and is now based at NPV Arts in Peckham.

Southwark Council with Southwark Arts Forum have the led the development of this programme over the last four years. STEP enables Southwark theatre organisations, large and small, to 'make the invisible visible' and highlight the vast range of imaginative and creative education work that goes on in the borough but is rarely given the profile it deserves.

STEP is a borough-wide partnership between the education sector and the theatre community in Southwark. It has a strategic vision to support creative theatre collaborations, to celebrate and increase access to this rich and diverse work.

Children perform at the Scoop "The importance of drama and theatre in the lives of young people is immeasurable. Involvement in drama is essential in enabling young people living in today’s society to feel confidence to express themselves, to feel empathy with other people, and to develop key life skills.

The creative experiences and activities that STEP offers to young people are enabling all of this, and more, to happen right here in Southwark."
Martin Freeman, actor, June 2006

STEP History

STEP 2006

The STEP Festival took place during the first two weeks of July and saw the network of theatre companies and drama specialists involved in the festival expanding once again, to include an even more diverse range of activities.

With an ever-expanding network of companies involved, we decided to introduce a focus for this year’s festival. Drawing on the feedback from the drama champions project and developed in consultation with Southwark education department, we produced the focus of Steps to Writing.

Each project included in STEP Festival 2006 was designed in line with the focus of Steps to Writing. Aiming to inspire young people and activate their imaginations, the festival focused on what enables participants to be able to write. You can download the full Evaluation Report here (788kb) and the Appendix (113kb). You can also download the Young Critics review (261kb) to see what the young people of Southwark made of the festival.

Have a look at the STEP Festival 2006: Steps to Writing (1mb) brochure to see the different activities that were on offer.

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Sir Ian McKellen reading STEP brochure "Congratulations on starting this initiative. The reason it's important for me, is because theatre isn't academic - you have to get up on your feet and participate and experience it and that chance to perform should be available to all of us. STEP can make that possible in Southwark. The beauty of theatre is that it allows us to discover our place in society. Why? Because all the world's a stage."
Sir Ian McKellen at the launch of the 2004 STEP festival

STEP 2004 and 2005

13 arts organisations showcased their education work, involving young people and teachers in the exciting world of theatre
32 schools participated in 57 theatre events
Representing nearly a third of Southwark's schools, 1,922 young people and 603 adults took advantage of workshops, live performances and a unique chance to work with some of the many great theatre companies and venues in the borough

Building on the success of the pilot project, STEP Festival 2005 involved even more theatre organisations and 45 schools.

4 children participate in Blue Elephant Theatre Workshop 2005 "STEP has come at a perfect time for schools. The new Primary Strategy for Excellence and Enjoyment requires us to be aware of the different sparks that make learning vivid and real for different children and encourages us to take a fresh look at the curriculum and take account of the resources available in the wider community. STEP offers all of this and all we need to do is to reach out and embrace it."
Belinda Lithgow, headteacher, Tower Bridge Primary School

Contact us

Aimee Forrester
STEP creative director
Tel: 020 7708 6124
info@step-partnership.co.uk
www.step-partnership.co.uk
c/o NPV Arts
Magic Eye Theatre
Havil Street
London SE5 7SD