Age: 22
Placement: West Lothian Youth Theatre
Before placement: Working in a supermarket

Although Edward had a degree in Performing Arts, he struggled to put any of it to use for over a year and got stuck in an unhappy rut working in a well known supermarket. After a while he came to the decision that he would like to work in Community Arts but was unsure of how to go about it, until he heard about what ProjectScotland could offer.

His placement at the West Lothian Youth Theatre as a Trainee Drama Workshop Leader includes assisting a variety of workshop leaders with groups of different ages and abilities. Edward has started to lead more groups himself, which involves lots of drama skills, from games to devising written texts. One of his biggest achievements so far has been working with inclusive drama groups, for people both with and without learning disabilities. The main aim of this is integration, as those without learning disabilities are also learning to include those with. Edward got to put a lot of input into how the drama was to be produced and has seen a massive improvement in the way the team worked with the participants. Edward completes his placement in August and until then he will keep looking for up and coming opportunities in Community Drama.

“ProjectScotland has given me the opportunity I was desperately looking for and helped me achieve goals I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. I’m really happy to be able to do the work I enjoy, especially as it impacts people in such a positive way. I just really want to keep learning more and more ways I can help people access the arts."