Arc Theatre in Barking & Dagenham

Planning has now begun for 'Lucky Me' - our brand new interactive drama-based health and wellbeing programme for primary and secondary schools in Havering, funded by Havering Clinical Commissioning Group. The programme looks at a range of health and wellbeing issues for young people – from body image and healthy eating, exercise, through to feelings and emotions, language and lifestyles, and will be available to Years 5 - 8 in Havering schools from September 2016! Contact us at Arc to find out more - call 020 8595 8509 or email theresa@arctheatre.com http://www.haveringccg.nhs.uk/

Last week was spent filming with young men from London Borough of Barking and Dagenham for our SQUAD project for The London Community Foundation (LCF) Comic Relief: Red Nose Day @Evening Standard Dispossessed - great sessions with lots of energy led by Teej Tendayi Jembere - can't wait to see their film!

Photos from Arc Theatre in Barking & Dagenham's post

We had a GREAT time at PGL Liddington last week with our Paul Hamlyn Foundation / London Borough of Barking and Dagenham MOPAC funded 'Raised Voices' female empowerment group - thanks to extra support from Jack Petchey Foundation! Our girls were absolutely fearless and we all had great fun!

On Monday, we had the great pleasure of presenting a summary of our anti-Female Genital Mutilation work with the local communities of London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of Havering and Newham London at the 'Communities Tackling FGM Initiative' celebration event at Westminster, hosted by Rosa, @TrustforLondon, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Comic Relief and @KeringForWomen with Options In Health. It was a hugely inspiring afternoon, with representatives from great community projects all over the UK - including the amazing Bolton Solidarity Community Association, who really brought home to us all the importance and power of men championing the campaign to end FGM! Arc's Education Director, Nat Smith At Arc was proud to present one of our short films from the 'Raised Voices' female empowerment group, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation and LBBD MOPAC - and you can find out more about the project and watch some of the participants' films on their dedicated website here: https://raisedvoices.info/ In the meantime, our 'No More Whispers' FGM awareness project for secondary audiences continues with FREE performance programmes for Newham schools funded by the London Borough of Newham, delivered in partnership with Manor Gardens... Call Theresa at Arc to find out more on 020 8595 8509 or email theresa@arctheatre.com

Timeline Photos

.. and another picture of this week's interactive 'Touching Moments' performances, funded by West Midlands Police and partners at the West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership - this time courtesy of Baverstock Academy - thank you! 'Touching Moments' is being delivered as part of Project Empower - designed to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport of the West Midlands. The summer tour is now fully booked, but we are taking provisional bookings for October 2016 - please get in touch to find out more! Email theresa@arctheatre.com

Timeline Photos

We are really enjoying working this week with great students at Perry Beeches The Academy, Perry Beeches IV The Free School, The Baverstock Academy and Perry Beeches II The Free School with our interactive 'Touching Moments' programme, funded by West Midlands Police and partners at the West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership. 'Touching Moments' is being delivered as part of Project Empower - designed to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport of the West Midlands. The summer tour is now fully booked, but we are taking provisional bookings for October 2016 - please get in touch to find out more! Email theresa@arctheatre.com Photo courtesy of Perry Beeches The Academy...

Rehearsals at 4pm today for our 2016 Stop & Think Youth Forum, before presentation to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Safer Neighbourhoods Board tomorrow!

Today we are running workshops as part of Hockerill Anglo-European College International Creative Day!

We are excited to report that our Stop & Think Youth Forum will be presenting to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Safer Neighbourhoods Board at Barking Town Hall next week, with their views on local policing and crime, at the culmination of our Stop & Think 2016 programme. Funded by B&D SNB through MOPAC, Stop & Think is facilitated by Clifford Oliver At Arc and Nat Smith At Arc, working with young people from schools across the Borough.

We are still trying to get on board West Midlands Secondary Schools to take up an amazing FREE performance programme this summer, funded by West Midlands Police and partners at the West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership. 'Touching Moments' has been funded as part of Project Empower - designed to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport of the West Midlands. It was originally commissioned by British Transport Police for London Schools as part of Project Guardian and we are now booking our summer tour in West Midlands! West Midlands does anyone have contacts at these schools?: Queensbridge, Streetly Academy, King Edward's Camp Hill, Perry Beeches II, III, IV and V, Great Barr, Cockshut, Saint John's Wall, Heath Park, Harborne Academy and Bishop Challoner Schools... please let us know! Thank you!

There's lots of project delivery happening in schools and the community from Arc at the moment! Today we are continuing our weekly 'Prestige' healthy relationships programme for girls in Barking & Dagenham secondary schools, and this afternoon we will be presenting our Female Genital Mutilation awareness training for school staff in Havering, funded by Havering Schools Improvement Service. “I found the inset incredibly informative. I knew little about the topic before hand and left feeling as if I had learned something valuable and useful for my profession as a teacher.” Havering Teacher, 2015

Here's a quick reminder to come along to our adult Community Forum Theatre group tonight at Kingsley Hall Church & Community Centre from 7-9pm!