We love working with people who have good ideas! Last year Nikita Singh commissioned us to would work with her and WECIL to create a workshop for young adults with learning disabilities to help them explore what they would like to do after they turn 18.
How we worked together
Anita (Artistic Lead) and Sara (Operations Lead) asked our Friday morning Drama Group to think about what things were important to think about when they were turning 18. The Group talked about getting a job and leaving home. They talked about all the different jobs, volunteering, part-time jobs, being an apprentice and getting benefits.
Some people told us they had family who helped them to get jobs. Some people don’t want to have a job and though “it’s enough work to look after themselves”. Other people said they love having different jobs in the week.
We talked about all the different ways people like to live;
- living with support,
- living in shared houses with full time support,
- living with parents or family,
- living independently with a support worker visiting sometimes.
Everyone likes to do things differently depending on what they need.
We asked our Training Group what they thought was important to think about when they turned 18. The Group talked about making friends and about how sometimes parents found it hard to let them go out and make mistakes on their own. Some of the choices they had could be tricky, like when to drink alcohol or how much. We also talked about where to get information and who to talk to about sex and relationships.
Some people wanted to be able to take risks and find out things for themselves. Other people wanted to have extra support and people to talk things through to make good healthy choices.
We used all of this information and experience to design the workshop. Beth, Bill and Claire wrote scripts and created new performances about the barriers that can get in the way of the things you want to do.
What we did
We had two workshops on Saturdays in June. Nakita asked Matt from WECIL to find people to take part in the workshop. Matt talked to young adults and their families and invited them to come to the workshop.
Young people came with their families and we played drama games together. Everyone watched Beth, Bill and Claire performing and then thought about what they would like to do when they turn 18. They thought about their journey into becoming an adult.
We talked about some of the things that might get in the way and what would be good ways to work around them.
Nikita took notes while the workshops were happening and will be writing up all the interesting conversations that happened for her research. Rosa, who is an artist, drew pictures of the workshops while they were happening. These drawings will be shared with the research.
Why this is important to Misfits
We love doing this kind of work as we get to use our creativity to support future generations and share our experiences to support others.
People who came to the workshops said, “it was fun’, “really inspiring to hear Beth’s journey” and that it was “fun to do a workshop together”.
For more info on either our Drama Group or Commissions you can follow the links below.
Drama Group Commission Us
