Lakeside Arts Centre

To Whom It May Concern:

Lakeside Arts is pleased to support Rebel Sparks Theatre Company in further developing Take Flight’s engagement and outreach offer in 2025. From firsthand experience of working with the company through R&D, Creation and Presentation, I have seen the care and commitment the company has to giving youngest audiences and their families a immersive experience. I have seen how the show and the experience can connect and resonate deeply with audiences. The different sensory layers offer something distinctive for babies and their carer’s and we would like to support the company in reaching audiences that wouldn't otherwise have access to this kind of work and experience.

We have so far committed to the following:

Support in Kind £2,380 comprising:

1) Rehearsal Space @£540 per day = 1,620

2) Venue outreach and audience development-= £400

3) Venue technical support for £120 x 3 = £360

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

Yours Sincerely, Manya Benenson

Creative Programmer

Feedback from preview tour

I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful opportunity to watch the fabulous performance with our Luca, who really liked it. We were so pleased it was such a lovely experience for him, it’s rare to find something for babies and toddlers to experience culture so it’s highly appreciated! Wishing you lots of success with the project. 

Our 3 year old didn't stop smiling the whole way through and loved the interactive section at the end. Our 10 month old was just mesmerized and her attention was held the whole way through (which is a miracle in itself).

A fantastic show- such an incredible team of people brought together to produce such an amazing show for 0-2 year olds! To keep a room full of 0-2 year olds engaged for 30 mins…phenomenal!!! Also very enjoyable for adults to watch as well!

We had such a fantastic time, it’s so rare to find things to do for under 2 at convenient times! Absolutely loved it.

I just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou for yesterday. The workshop was beautiful and my daughter has since been making nests at home and putting socks in it!

Such an amazing show! Emilia is teething so bad so I was worried about her but the light/colours/amazing Ines and Farrell literally kept her engaged every time she started to fuss. THANK YOU!

 Such a beautiful morning with my boy at this heartfelt and stunning show by the gramophones- Take Flight. He was totally captivated and even sung along (loudly) at the end.

The Gramophones- beautiful show today we both loved it! Thankyou!

Had the best time at the interactive Take Flight show at Curve Theatre

I was particularly touched by the inclusion of the parent's experience in the show - I knew it would be entertaining for babies, it never occurred to me that it would be representative of what we're all going through, and that was nice. The bit where the Momma Bird tries to sneak away from Baby Bird when they're sleeping killed me! A beautiful performance.

Shed a tiny tear because it was so nice to be able to introduce little one to the arts in such a positive and welcoming environment for him (and the performance was beautiful!!). It’s so hard to find age appropriate things to do at this age, and to know you were ok with some noise, running around etc is the biggest relief. Thank you all for such a wonderful show.

“I actually managed to see Take Flight today and I just wanted to drop a note to say how lovely it was. Was so nice seeing the babies so engaged and it's a really special piece of theatre” (Hannah Leek, Curve Programmer)

Outreach plans from Venues

Norden Farm- We offer free tickets to a range of partners that would with disadvantaged and vulnerable groups including the berkshire autism group and slough refugee centre (disabilities & English not first language)

This production seemed like the ideal performance for them and us

Farnham Maltings- Farnham Maltings, as part of it's business plan, is deeply invested in the increase of family audiences to the venue, particularly those in the early years category. We have a solid audience for parent and baby comedy events, and are committed to transferring this to theatre events for the same group.

• Our community producer will work with the marketing team to ensure news of the production is send to relevant social groups and clubs.

• We often share surplus tickets to young carers, children in care, and children using food banks, to introduce those to live performance who might otherwise not engage.

• We also have links to local refugee reading groups and Ukrainian social alliances, so we would be grateful to have a show that works so well with those for whom English is not their first language. 

• We are supporting a theatre company in the new year with their R&D for a show about parents experiencing emotional difficulty after birth, so would potentially have a host of participants who are particularly poised to relate to Take Flight.

Corn Exchange- We sometimes offer targeted comps via platforms such as Tickets for Good or through local groups.

We have a very active engagement team working our in nursery and school settings as we as delivering a busy programme of in house workshops and courses. We also work with family centres and local support groups.

 We work with local groups for those who have English as a second language, such as Educafe, have good links with local SEN schools and Mary Hare School and work with local social prescribers to support mental wellbeing.

Standard activity would include, website page, inclusion in season brochure, inclusion on highlights posters, digital screens, leaflet distribution, local press release, e-marketing social media etc.

The Albany- 31% of The Albany’s audience come from Audience Spectrum least engaged profiles and we wish to build on this. The Albany also has an increasing focus on hyper-local audiences, with 48% of ticket buyers in 2023-24 based in Lewisham, meeting our stated mission. We have a regular family programme and a loyal family audience in particular so would target our family mailing list and social media following with this show.

Based in Lewisham, where just under half the population are from Black and Global Majority communities, it is important to showcase Global Majority artists in the Albany's programme.

Audience Spectrum profiles most relevant to the Albany:

Facebook Families: younger families with limited engagement in the arts, who often participate in free or low-cost family-oriented activities but are regular attenders and participants through Albany programming and pricing.

Keen on Culture: often lacking the resources to fully engage with cultural activities, tending to prefer local, affordable events and facing financial or logistical barriers to accessing high-quality arts experiences. Hyper local approach and strong knowledge of communities will enable accurate targeting of offers to this group, making the event affordable.

Kaleidoscope Creativity (30%): These ethnically diverse, inner-city dwellers often live in local authority housing close to a lot of cultural provision, but don't tend to engage, as low education, employment and income all act as barriers to access. Some do consider themselves 'arty' though, so community-led, local co-creation can be key to engagement, and culturally specific festivals, street arts, and live music, beyond the western mainstream and outside of traditional venues, all tend to be more popular.

The Albany has a partnership with Tickets for Good who distribute free and discounted tickets to NHS workers and those in receipt of the government’s cost of living payment scheme. We can do this on shows where there is capacity.

The Albany also offers 10 £1 tickets for every event sold at a stall on Deptford Market twice per year, for most local audiences who would otherwise be unable to attend.

The Albany can arrange Instagram takeovers, blog interviews etc with the cast and creatives; we have good relationships with local press (including the Lewisham and Greenwich Weekender, South Londoner and SE Londoner) for interviews with cast and creatives. Marketing campaigns generally include social media ads, email and print distribution plus inclusion in Albany season marketing campaign which includes ads, email, print and distribution. We have a very high level of footfall both at the Albany and our sister site Deptford Lounge (which houses Lewisham Libraries), with regular engagement programmes, community groups, hirers, co-workers and café customers using our spaces. Our users are still reliant on print and we find print displayed in our foyer is picked up very quickly. We also have large poster sites on the side of our building on Douglas Way, which also gets a high level of footfall, especially on market days (x3 per week). 

We are happy to discuss setting up offers, e.g. an Early Bird discount to reward early bookers.

We also have connections with resident companies in our building who work with disabled adults and young people – including Heart n Soul and Entelechy Arts.

Junction Goole-there’s a list below of community groups/centres that could receive some form of communication related to any family shows/workshops for younger audiences. This communication would either be via email, Facebook posts, word of mouth, print, or phone calls. It’s not an exhaustive list – but they’re the top ones that I can think of.

 Families in Goole (FiG)

Unique Friends (SEND family activities group)

Moorlands Community Centre

Treehouse Goole (Nursery, round the corner from Junction)

Howdenshire & Goole Area Special Families (SEND families group)

Goole Families

All other local nurseries we would be likely to contact as well. Izzy (Our Marketing lead) has also suggested that local dance schools would be a good shout to reach for this with the ariel side of the show, as many pupils will have younger/infant siblings, and mothers who share the interest as well. These include;

Butterfly Dance Studios (Goole)

Silhouette Dance Academy (Rawcliffe)

Anna’s Academy of Dance (Snaith)

The postal distribution list for our Brochure (The next one will likely be Jan-Feb, and the one after from Apr, though we don’t have a definite deadline on these as it depends what we programme.) is around 8000.

We also do targeted emails to those who have booked previous shows that are similar in nature/ audience. The numbers on these can vary depending on the customer lists that are built for each individual show, but our general audience for young children’s specific emails is around 1300. Targeted post for each show does also go out as well – but again the numbers vary on these.

Hub Litchfield- Here at The Hub we work with a range of local community groups, hosting weekly or monthly groups. We have also built a network of local organisations who we don't work with on a regular basis but we can link with when appropriate/relevant. We offer reduced price tickets, generally to community organisations and their members who would benefit from the content of the show. 

There are many groups that the show would link with here and we would be able to reach:

Groups with English as a second language - 

Lichfield Refugee Aid - we host a weekly coffee and conversation group for them. 

Lichfield Support for Ukraine - we host a monthly meet up for them.

Parent groups - 

Breastfeeding Support NCT - we host on a weekly basis

BLAST - Parent of children with ASD support group - we host monthly

We also have a huge community of young families who use our space throughout the day as we have a play space for young children, so we would be able to reach out to that community too. 

Lakeside Arts- Groups to contact

Footprints in Sneinton

Steps in Shepshed

Community coaching company in notts (CIC)

SENSE hub in Loughborough 

Rainbows carers group in notts

Rainbows hospice in Lougborugh 

Then also SEN schools and nurseries like Carlton Digby, Oakfield, Stanton vale, ash Lea, Foxwood, Ivy House, one in Clifton can’t remember the name.

link in with TOD and TOVI teachers of the deaf and visually impaired who work in the community.

SEN group who meet monthly at notts children’s centres in Chilwell and Eastwood.

Nottingham Refugee Forum