Neverland Research and Development
Tuckshop Dance Theatre welcomes you to Neverland. An interactive dance and digital story telling experience for young people and families. Neverland is a world of possibility shaped by the voices and minds of young people growing up online. This visually striking, highly physical and entertaining show presents honest, emotional and uplifting stories that reveal the tensions between reality and virtual existence. How can what we post online twist our fate in real life? What do we share, hide and reveal?
Neverland is a space that will continually evolve, shape shifting identities and different approaches to interacting with dance online. Audiences will contribute to creating Neverland. In Phase one, Lauren began to test findings from her research, and has been reflecting on how to build Neverland to reach wider audiences and to really shift the art form of dance as we know it. Dance, Augmented Reality, Social Media and Visual Projections to reveal young people's views around what they love and hate about social media. Lauren is becoming increasingly interested in social media and dance practice as they are both mediums through which cultures assert and question themselves. Social media is a space for which people perform identities. Constructing your online persona is a creative act of self expression, an interplay of imagination and what is real to curate your archive, and perform a version of yourself to your online audience. Lauren is interested in the convergence of social media and dance practices to create new approaches to creating shared experiences. As research is unfolding in real time, Lauren is sharing her own findings online. Stay up to date with Tuckshop Dance Theatre on social media and via this website. This arena feels very fertile and therefore moving forwards, more research around ethical considerations in practice in public and online spheres will be taken in to account.
Neverland is a space that will continually evolve, shape shifting identities and different approaches to interacting with dance online. Audiences will contribute to creating Neverland. In Phase one, Lauren began to test findings from her research, and has been reflecting on how to build Neverland to reach wider audiences and to really shift the art form of dance as we know it. Dance, Augmented Reality, Social Media and Visual Projections to reveal young people's views around what they love and hate about social media. Lauren is becoming increasingly interested in social media and dance practice as they are both mediums through which cultures assert and question themselves. Social media is a space for which people perform identities. Constructing your online persona is a creative act of self expression, an interplay of imagination and what is real to curate your archive, and perform a version of yourself to your online audience. Lauren is interested in the convergence of social media and dance practices to create new approaches to creating shared experiences. As research is unfolding in real time, Lauren is sharing her own findings online. Stay up to date with Tuckshop Dance Theatre on social media and via this website. This arena feels very fertile and therefore moving forwards, more research around ethical considerations in practice in public and online spheres will be taken in to account.
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Audience Feedback
"Loved It. Absolutely Amazing from start to finish" Young Person, Audience Participant "I could see my life on stage. So true!" Audience, aged 16. “The young people all thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it gave them plenty to think about, especially their use of social media and the effects it can have.” Youth Worker "I want all my students to see it! This work will stick with me for a very long time" Teacher "Loved every minute of it, clever, funny, fun props, lighting and story. Choreography and performance was incredible." Audience Participant "Neverland was an emotional experience, which as a parent highlighted digital life for youth today. It really does make you think." Parent "Powerful, clever, sends a strong message and thought provoking." Audience Participant, aged 21 "This work needs to tour and work with schools." Audience Participant "The show really resonated with my students." Teacher Evaluation Feedback 100% of our young people said that they use social media to engage with the arts. 100% of our audience said that Neverland could help adults to engage in further conversations with young people and their digital identity. #cultureisdigital |
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"Social Media is a performance space that can alter our understanding of all performance spaces: it forces new ways of thinking about authenticity, creative proprietorship, authorial intention, and the relationship between artist and audience among many other urgent issues. Those changes inevitably will alter the way in which theatre is made and received." Patrick Lonergan, Theatre and Social Media.
www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/patrick-lonergan/theatre-and-social-media/GOR010054729 After a successful research and development process, Lauren is interested in developing the work to create a visually spectacular, immersive installation piece that lives on social media, with narrative fed through social media channels before, during and after the show. Lauren wants to use phase two, to reach more young people through her research and to give audiences more control of the outcomes of the performance, using digital media. Audiences are invited to capture the work and share their own perspectives of the work online and Lauren will eventually create a digital archive that celebrates community engagement and digital culture' #makingneverland' Moving forwards to phase Two: "I feel more equipped to ask better questions, to experiment with accessible digital media in my dance making, and to position myself as a dance artist that can reframe the art form so that my work can respond to children and young people's needs, aspirations and creative appetite. I fundamentally know what I want to achieve through the next phase of the work and will work super hard to get there." Lauren Tucker |
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"I feel that there is a need for more dialogue concerning young people and their digital identity, online behaviour and interests. As an artist sharing multiple perspectives of young people living online, it is my role to do the work of the dialogue. Tuckshop Dance Theatre want to explore the potential of social media and youth engagement, raise awareness of the positive and negative elements related to social media, and to promote that young people use it safely and for good. Through all of my work I want to encourage young people to be advocates for youth voice and the power of cultural engagement." Lauren Tucker
Lauren Tucker has been working with young people to find out what life is like for young people in our digital world, to explore digital identity, to allow young people to reflect on how they present themselves, develop relationships. The work aims to celebrate individuality in young people, to empower them to make positive choices, to amplify youth voice and use digital technology in a meaningful and effective way.
In the Make Your Mark Youth Consultation carried out by Youth Parliament, the Northwest outlined Mental Health as a top priority issue for young people. Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Liverpool and Wirral believed that Mental Health Services should be improved with young people’s help and should be available in schools. http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/makeyourmark/
Tuckshop Dance Theatre consulted with hundreds of young people from the Northwest to find that 100% of the young people involved in the research, believe that social media can have a negative impact on mental health and well-being of young people. Neverland looks at young people’s digital identity what role social media is playing on developing healthy and active global citizens both on and offline.
Within the show there is references to sexting, online grooming, cyber bullying, relationships. The story of Peter Pan, The Happiness Effect by Donna Freitas, interactive narratives in online gaming, a range of articles and years of experience working with young people have also played a role in shaping the show.
It must be said that a lot of positive stories were shared about young people and their relationship with Social Media, and Neverland opts for celebrating the positives over the negatives but questions were raised about how the adult population support young people as they explore, curate and present their digital identity.
In a recent BBC documentary ‘Dancing For Happiness’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0btt5n1/darcey-bussell-dancing-to-happiness Dance- the outcome rich art form was viewed as an effective way to support young people in their development, to empower young people to thrive. As I reflect on my own dancing journey, I can see how cultural learning fosters resilience in young people. My practice is driven by a desire for social change, and a passion to use movement and dance as a way of developing young people. I want to create a dance and digital interactive experience that cultivates curiosity, dialogue, that sticks in people’s minds as a show that made me rethink how I was living my life, to celebrate who they are, and to empower them to be active citizens that can live authentically.
