A world of

opportunities

With the support of ACE funding, Shock Horror will deliver a national programme of highly interactive new creative activities, raising the standard of work being produced by, with and for young people.

What will happen

Shock Horror has been a huge hit with young people since its creation in ‘22, providing creative engagement and support through its wrap-around workshops & careers conversations. This year we want to elevate this interactive experience further, extending our educational reach & access, igniting a life-long passion for creativity and the arts.

We believe in immersive, hands-on learning experiences that ignite creativity and spark curiosity. Our 2024 Creative Learning Programme will extend to not only delivering innovative workshops, but engage more young people with podcasts, personalised mentoring, vibrant community engagement, and impactful outreach initiatives.

An extensive, place based community engagement R&D

A 2 week engagement of full day (6 hour) sessions, supported by True Talent Youth Theatre. We will work with young people from different demographic profiles across 5 districts of Kirklees to form a diverse and relevant focus group.

Meeting daily, these young people will work together to directly shape the structure and content of our nation-wide Creative Learning Programme. Sessions will include:

We will discover what it is about Shock Horror that excites and inspires young minds through creative workshops. Exploring the motivations of different characters, devising suspenseful horror theatre, puppetry games and cinematic multimedia techniques.
We will discuss young people’s perspectives, experiences, and aspirations. A pre-designed set of open-ended questions will encourage young people to reflect on their interests, challenges, and expectations regarding arts education and creative experiences.
Topics will include their favourite forms of artistic expression, barriers to participation, and ideas for enhancing accessibility and inclusivity.
We will supplement face-to-face interviews with digital/paper surveys and feedback forms that allow participants to provide input at their own convenience. We’ll collect quantitative data on demographics, preferences, and satisfaction levels to compliment our qualitative insights.
Item description

“The whole day was amazing! Really insightful, really engaging. I learnt so much about puppetry and horror in theatre”

— Lily, Thomas Hardye School

An empowering Creative Learning Programme

A weekly engagement wrapped-around our Shock Horror tour, made possible by our community R&D. We will deliver multiple opportunities (creative activities, digital experiences & 1:1 support) to young people in different places across the country.

Interacting both live and digitally, young people will be encouraged to explore their own creativity, with support and guidance from industry leaders. Opportunities will include:

A weekly engagement in all venues Shock Horror visits on tour, delivered over multiple three-hour sessions each week.
We will deliver activities that explore the foundations of puppetry, multimedia integration and will unravel the secrets of crafting the perfect on-stage scare. Our workshops will offer a gateway to unleash young people’s imaginations, inspiring their academic interests and honing their craft.
Careers sessions & post-show Q&A events will give young people the unique opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the different creative pathways within the performing arts industry.
An informal environment to reflect, connect and share grounded advice with our back-stage and on-stage artists.
Thunder Road’s team of specialists in acting, directing and arts marketing will guide and nurture the artistic endeavours of aspiring young artists based in Kirklees.
Working remotely, they will receive personalised support, constructive feedback, and grounded careers advice.

How will we reach and engage with young people?

A comprehensive audience development and outreach campaign will enable us to reach our target audience. Follow up activities will allow us to deepen our relationships with them longer-term, so that the Creative Learning Programme is more than just a one-off experience.

Over time, we hope to convert our young participants to become loyal Thunder Road audiences who enjoy many strands of our work for years to come, inspiring them to try new experiences.

How we’ll reach and engage with young people in Kirklees
Working with trusted place-based partners True Talent Youth Theatre, we will encourage participation by:
- Utilising the youth theatre’s email database to explain and promote the R&D to parents and students
- Creating a dedicated webpage detailing the schedule of events, logistics, ways to get involved, as well as FAQs for parents
- Advertising in Kirklees Facebook groups to encourage local young people to join
- Connecting with the Lawrence Batley Theatre’s Young Company, and other local youth groups, to encourage cross-promotion
- Partnering with local schools and community centres in each district of Kirklees to spread awareness about the project
- Hosting information sessions and presentations at these venues to introduce the project and invite participation
- Empowering participants to spread the word within their own social circles and communities
- Creating engaging social media content, including behind-the-scenes glimpses, participant stories, and teaser videos of workshop activities
Once we have engaged our young people and have established a regular group, we will then promote our Mentorship opportunities to them by discussing the offer in-person, following up with a digital information pack explaining how they can apply.
How we’ll reach and engage with young people on tour
Working with partners in each tour location, we’ll reach young people in each area by:
- Partnering with local arts companies, schools, and youth organisations in each location to promote the engagement opportunities to young people
- We will provide printed materials for local schools to explain the workshop offer, as well as a digital information pack to distribute to their contacts
- Utilising the existing networks at each theatre to connect with their in-house youth theatres and regular partner schools, colleges and universities
- Leveraging social media platforms and targeted advertising to promote the workshops to teachers and educational gatekeepers in each area
- Partnering with The School Trip, targeting their database of thousands of teachers across the UK who are looking for resources, workshops and school trip ideas
How we’ll reach and engage with young people online
We’ll promote our podcast via:
- Acast; all episodes will be distributed on the world's leading independent podcast company on every podcast hosting platform (Including Spotify, Apple, Google)
- Emailing a link to the podcast to all teachers after each workshop; encouraging students to listen to supplement their in-person learning experiences
- Inviting venues to distribute the podcast link in post-show emails to all Shock Horror audiences
- Emailing a link to Thunder Road’s email database and promoting widely on social media
- Partnering with influential special guests who have a significant following among young people
We’ll promote our other digital assets (eg, Education Pack) to young people via:
- Providing links to all teachers at the point of initial outreach
- Encouraging venues to email a link to their key school contacts
- Following up with reminder links via email to teachers after each workshop
- Sharing snippets of digital educational content on social media, including in Teacher Resource Facebook groups (UK-wide)
Through our 2024 Creative Learning Programme, we intend to develop our own new mailing list of young people who we have engaged with from across the UK. We will achieve this by encouraging all young people to sign up to a specific list by email.
We will also encourage them to follow us on social media, allowing Thunder Road to have more direct and immediate contact with our participants.

We will then target this audience with specific content to deepen their experience with Thunder Road, sending them creative prompts over email, updating them on future Thunder Road tours and shows, and highlighting more opportunities to get involved. This targeted work will enable us to deepen our relationships with young people and convert them from one-time participants, to long-term followers of the company.

Safeguarding

All activities will be designed to promote the welfare of young participants and specific measures will be in place to protect them from harm at all times.

A Designated Safeguarding Officer will be in attendance for all activities involving children and young people
All staff will read our Safeguarding Policy and Procedures, and those of the venues and companies we visit
Risk assessments will be undertaken for every new type of activity involving young people
We will create an environment where children and young people feel safe to raise any concerns, always avoiding one-to-one contact between an adult and a child
We will follow NSPCC guidance on adequate adult to child ratios when planning chaperones
When discussing some of the more difficult themes in the play (eg, neglect, alcohol, scenes of horror), we will invite open discussions within the group, clearly allowing young people to opt out at any point, and follow up by signposting support for all participants

“The workshops were really cool. Looking forward to using what we did in my acting class in the future”

— Jay, Priestley College

What’s the legacy

The legacy of the project extends far beyond the confines of its performances and workshops, leaving a long-lasting mark on the hearts and minds of young people and the broader creative and academic communities.

We hope the project will:

Inspire long-term passions and interests for young people, encouraging them to pursue vibrant careers in theatre, film, and multimedia production.
Empower their creative expression: young people are inspired to create their own devised pieces that reflects their unique perspectives and experiences.
Enrich students' understanding of drama, multimedia storytelling and wellbeing, improving their academic performance.
Motivate teachers and educators to incorporate elements of horror theatre into their curriculum, providing students with opportunities to analyse themes, dissect narratives, and explore the cultural significance of the genre.

Shock Horror

At the heart of each creative opportunity is our acclaimed theatre production. ACE investment would help to improve the show’s multi-layered qualities and commitment to achieving greater fairness, access and opportunity across the cultural sector. Practice will include:

Re-design of the show’s updated story content will feature diverse young voices; putting them at the heart of the action. Recorded in Kirklees with young people from the area.
The creation of a visual story guide, easy read plot summary and audio flyer, as well as BSL, Audio Described and Captioned Performances will support the project both live and online. Helping to identify and remove barriers for D/deaf and disabled people. Supported by national venue outreach.
Thunder Read will work with leading experts to create safe, welcoming and equitable environments throughout the project; a safe space where everyone is valued no matter their background or identity.