Why should the cultural sector target younger audiences? Is it doing enough to cater for children and young people and to cater for their engagement? 

This month’s ACMHangouts session sees guests discuss the relevance of considering young audiences as a main target audience for artistic projects and the process involved in creating work for young audiences, together with the challenges this presents.

Host Elaine Falzon coordinates a discussion involving freelance director and educator Denise Mulholland, Teatru Manoel participation manager Kate Fenech Field, Teatru Anon artist Pierre Stafrace and ZiguZajg artistic director Martha Vella. 

Mulholland spoke about the benefits of exposing children to drama, music and other artistic subjects from a young age, both at school as well as by attending live shows tailored for them. 

Falzon asked how artists can go about attracting a young audience to a particular performance, especially given that usually it’s an adult who’s the artistic director. Mulholland acknowledged the challenge, noting that even if you have the best programme if parents don’t know about it or aren’t inclined to bring their kids, a big demographic will go missing.

Fenech Field noted that if young people haven’t experienced cultural programmes at a young age, engagement becomes even more difficult once they enter their teens. 

Stafrace walked the audience through the process of creating a performance for a young audience from the artistic perspective. Teatru Anon presented The Little Prince during the ZiguZajg 2021 programme, and Stafrace explained how the St Exupery classic deals with themes of love, friendship, loneliness and loss that are relatable to young children and to adults. The challenge, he adds, was to find ways of adapting these themes to a wide audience, from eight year old upwards.

One of the biggest mistakes when targeting a young audience is downgrading the production, he said. 

Vella said the ZiguZajg festival she is responsible for is the first theatrical experience for many young people. Creating and proposing works for young audiences is important for many reasons, including the educational, transformative, imaginative development. But it’s also important to the artists themselves, as younger audiences will always be ready with very honest feedback about any given production. 

Vella also mentioned the importance of keeping theatre accessible to everyone, explaining that ZiguZajg focuses on having an accessible programme, with at least one performance for audiences who have different needs. It’s the artists’ duty to ensure access to everyone, she concluded.