Story-led Resilience Programme

Winner of the 2023 UK Theatre award for Excellence in Arts Education! This innovative, successful, and internationally recognised programme was developed using stories presented on Blackpool Grand Theatre’s stage to identify, explore and define resilience. Making use of drama and arts-based methods, it brings the focal story to life as a gateway through which to learn about resilience through the lens of the on-stage characters’ challenges, successes, and relationships. Children and young people practice resilient moves as they tell and retell the story working out how best the characters can cope with life’s ups and downs. The programme helps them identify what they can learn from the characters’ situations and apply it to their own lives. Crucially, participants in the programme get to see a professional performance of the production as a core part of the fully-rounded creative learning experience.

Nominated for The Stage Award 2023, Blackpool Grand Theatre is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, for which an uplift was received in the 2023-26 portfolio to support the ongoing development of the Story Led Resilience programme in Blackpool. The development of the programme has also been supported by grant awards from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The Ragdoll Foundation, and The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity and is currently under commission from Childrens’ Theatre Partnership and the Royal Opera House.

The programme incorporates a range of tools including the ‘Resilience Framework’ (Prof. A Hart. et al, 2007, 2015) and ‘Story-Led Resilient Practice’™ (Celine Wyatt, 2017, 2022).

The Programme has the following Key Elements:

1. Story-Led Resilient Practice ™
2. Creative Evaluation Tools
3. Story-Led Resilient Resources (Bespoke and General)
4. Story-Led Resilient Training (Part 1+2: Introduction to the Theory and Practice of SLR)
5. Coaching and Mentoring

To find out more about this program, get in touch with us here at The Knotted Project or our colleagues at the Creative Development team at Blackpool Grand Theatre on 01253 290111 or email creativelearning@blackpoolgrand.co.uk

This work centres on the Resilience Framework which is built on these 5 key elements.

Basics:

Ensuring the necessities needed for life are in place: like food, sleep, exercise, money, housing, a safe space and the right to be free from prejudice and discrimination.

Belonging:

Encouraging good relationships: concentrating on positive times and places, remaining hopeful about new connections and having people in your life you can count on.

Learning:

Having opportunities inside and outside of school or work to develop interests, talents and life skills, including mapping out or having a view of the future.

Coping:

Embedding the skills needed to manage the knocks of everyday living, like problem-solving, staying calm and leaning on others if needed.

Core self:

Developing those things that help children, young people and families to develop a strong sense of themselves, including ways to build and nurture their confidence, self-esteem and character.