East Ayrshire Council reports that top performing companies travelled to Kilmarnock last week to help young people find out about jobs in the creative industries. And Scottish Opera’s Director of Education and Outreach Jane Davidson said: “It’s really important to show young people that they don’t need to be performers to work in the arts. There are many avenues to explore and I think we opened their eyes to the possibilities. I really hope we are able to do this again.”

http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/corpres/news/showNews.asp?p=3652

Ninety fourth-year pupils from five local secondary schools took part in a range of workshops at the National Performing Companies event in the Palace Theatre. The youngsters learned not only about performing, but also about lesser-known ‘backstage’ work in production and set design; wardrobe and make-up; and publicity and graphic design.
The pupils from James Hamilton, Kilmarnock, Stewarton, Auchinleck and Cumnock Academies attended either a morning or afternoon session of activities to give them practical experience in all aspects of stage and screen performance, learning from professionals working in the field.