Outlander star Sam Heughan helps kickstart new Youth Theatre Arts Scotland campaign
Specifically, Heughan is working with the organization in order to further promote their new Kickstarter. This one, which you can view here, is designed for the purpose of helping to raise funds at a time in which the group is preparing for the National Festival of Youth Theatre, an event taking place on the west coast of Scotland this summer. The festival will bring together 150 young people to work on their craft, camp together, and also perform on stage at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr. It’s a great opportunity for a great deal of learning and camaraderie-building to take place in a singular spot. There are also many great Kickstarter rewards, whether it be autographs from Sam or even even a personalized poem-reading from him.
In a statement promoting the campaign, which could also help to raise awareness for future events, Heughan made sure to mention the impact of theatre on a small-scale and widespread level:
“Youth Theatre is for everyone; it’s about a community, it’s about being supported by your peer group. You learn skills, not just acting but all the other sides needed for working in TV, film and the theatre industry. Youth theatres are a gateway to greater career prospects. I know if we get young people involved, it’s going to pay dividends in the future. Youth theatre gave me the confidence, skills and the contacts to begin my journey into acting and I’d like to help other talented young Scots to do this.”
A little bit of personal perspective
There are several people among the CarterMatt team who have some theater background, and can personally speak to the merits of it in order to foster creativity and inspire so much in terms of passion and artistic ability. Personally, this is especially something that can be spoken to — high school theatre was a refuge for expression, especially in a place like Texas where there are such drastic differences between artists and non-artists. Theatre matters, and education matters both inside the classroom and out. Without these sort of arts-based programs, it’s hard to discover that potential or create that outlet where someone may realize that acting is their dream.
Cheers to Sam for continuing to use his voice and his platform to help others in the best way possible, and also to Youth Theatre Arts Scotland for creating such opportunities in the first place.
As one final reminder, you can head over here to view the campaign in full. (Photo via Andy Catlin.)