The Place wants you to support its crowdfunding campaign and become a Bedford youth arts champion

The Place is calling on Bedford people to join its crowdfunding campaign and become a youth arts champion.

The campaign – which runs until July – aims to raise £5,000 to help drive forward the theatre’s youth provision for 2023/24.

Since the pandemic The Place has carefully considered how to engage young people, placing them at the heart of its artistic and organisational development, with a target to increase reach with people who have previously had little or no participation with performing arts activities.

Lead Producer Alex Levene said “Our work extends beyond just youth theatre and includes creative and critical writing, storytelling and game play. This supports our ethos of providing a broad range of inclusive and affordable participatory opportunities.

"We’re always looking to engage young creative minds across the year, using both ongoing, long-term activities like our TTRPG Youth Group, as well as focused, one-off workshops.”

With participant numbers across all their activities growing, they are now thinking ahead to how to reach outside of the venue and build opportunities for young people across Bedford borough.

Alex added: “Our vision is to ensure that family finances are never a barrier to engaging with our activities: supporting participants from a range of backgrounds, regardless of their personal circumstances.”

You can donate to the campaign here.