SeaChange Arts are looking for young people from across Norfolk aged between 13 and 25 years old to take part in an exciting new circus project. Participants will work with professional artists to produce a brand new piece of street theatre which they will then perform at the region’s largest free International festival of street art and circus, the Out There Festival. They will also be given the chance to explore and research the circus and entertainment heritage of Great Yarmouth to use as inspiration for the piece. Participants can chose whether to take part in either the heritage or performance side of the project, or both.

The Heritage sessions will take place on 25th, 27th and 29th July at the Norfolk Records Office in Norwich. Participants will be shown how to create a contemporary circus archive and receive training in oral history. Spaces are limited to 10 participants per session, and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

In order to help with their research, SeaChange Arts are looking for local people who have memories of the circus in Great Yarmouth to be interviewed by the young people. Memories can be about anything at all to do with the circus (perhaps visiting as a child, knowing one of the performers or remembering when animals used to perform in the shows), and SeaChange would love to hear from anyone who would like to share their experiences. The memories will be stored in a permanent archive at the Norfolk Records Office, and will be used by the young people to inspire the creation of the new circus performance. The interviews will take place in Great Yarmouth on 2nd and 4th August.

The performance workshops will be running at the Priory Centre in Great Yarmouth on 1st, 3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th, 30th and 31st August, and on 4th and 11th September. Participants will work with professional artists to create the piece to be performed at the Out There International Festival of Street Arts and Circus 2011. The young people will also have the opportunity to attend workshops with the UK’s leading contemporary circus company, No Fit State Circus, to learn skills including aerial, acrobatics and juggling. These sessions will take place in Great Yarmouth on 13th, 14th and 15th September.

The final performance will take place as part of the Out There Festival on Sunday 18th September in the town’s St George’s Park.

To request an application form for the project, or if you would like to share your memories of the circus, please contact Laurie Miller-Zutshi at SeaChange Arts on 01493 846187, or email [email protected].