Imagine… the power of children’s theatre

To understand the power – the importance – of children’s theatre, just watch children watching a Tim Bray Theatre Company production. This is not a passive amusement. On the edge of their seats, the children are immersed: transported, joyful, fearful, anticipating, calling out, cheering.

 

Precisely as intended, they are playing their part in the performance. Engaging their imaginations. 

 

Imagination powers progress. Nothing changes until someone imagines a better way. Governments, business leaders and social agencies all agree that creativity and innovation are what the world needs most from future generations. Tim Bray Theatre Company  (TBTC) fires young imaginations and ignites the creative minds of tomorrow, deepening and expanding their cultural awareness. 

Every year, more than 25,000 adults and children attend TBTC shows and participate in theatre workshops and classes. Every year, the company inspires children and young people of all backgrounds and abilities to be confident and creative through New Zealand theatre. It’s Tim’s passion that theatre contributes to their success in school, life and future work. 

Gift a Seat.

To ensure that everyone can attend a Tim Bray Theatre Company production, the company runs Gift a Seat, a programme where through donations and funding the company offers show tickets to children at no cost.

Gail Rotherham, Business Development Manager at Tim Bray Theatre Company, looks after the programme. “It allows us to provide free tickets to children from low decile schools, Make-A-Wish New Zealand, Kelston Deaf Education Centre (KDEC), and blind and sight impaired children from BLENNZ (Blind and Low Vision Network of NZ),” she says. “It aligns with our purpose to inspire children and young people of all backgrounds and abilities to be confident and creative through New Zealand theatre.”

“We want our shows to be inclusive and accessible. We started offering free tickets to families from Make a Wish New Zealand in 2005, and from 2004 when we did our first New Zealand sign language interpreted performance, we invited KDEC with tickets funded by a sponsor. We have since been offering tickets to children from low decile schools and early childhood centres, and fromBLENNZ to our audio described performances.

“We renamed the whole programme Gift a Seat in 2017. The whole idea is for theatre to be inclusive, and to reach more children in more parts of Auckland from more diverse communities. This was truly realised in our August tour of ‘The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate’ when 1751 children attended at no cost with tickets ere funded by multiple funders.”

There is little doubt about the need for the Gift a Seat programme. The cost of a theatre ticket is prohibitive for many families, and making tickets available to schools and early childhood centres through Gift a Seat allows children who would not otherwise be able to, to attend.

“The cost of buses is also a barrier,” says Gail, “so we want to increase donations so we can transport the children to the theatre. We are inundated with requests from low decile schools and early childhood centres to see our shows and would like to grow our donations to accommodate the need.

“Our plan is to build Gift a Seat to a level where we cover the needs of the number of children coming to our shows and offer Youth Theatre scholarships so children can have a term of drama classes at no cost to their family.”

Testaments from schools and early childhood centres show that they really appreciate having the opportunity to attend performances. For many children, it is the first time they have ever attended live theatre. More than that, it allows their imaginations to fire, as just a couple of quotes show:

“Seeing a live theatre performance is wonderful for helping our tamariki develop their creative expression, both physical and verbal and to get their natural creativity and imagination flowing in new directions.” Massey Playcentre

“This is a life-enriching experience for our school children who would never have experienced this without the Gift a Seat sponsorship.” Elfrida Raj, Deputy Principal, Glenbrae School

“These performances are a vital part of children’s development, socially; educationally and building confidence,” says Gail, “often sparking ideas for their own performances, and getting them involved in the arts.”

To make a donation to gift a Seat, contact Gail Rotherham at Tim Bray Theatre Company 09) 486 2261 or gail@timbray.org.nz