A youth arts festival in Aberdeen is set to return for its second year this June, celebrating the city’s creative youth and igniting the bright sparks of the future.
Aberdeen Performing Arts announced today that the Light the Blue festival will take place over six days from June 10-15. Using the Lemon Tree as a central hub for the festival, break out street performances are also planned in the city centre, as well as workshops and other Fringe events at the Music Hall and His Majesty’s Theatre.
The festival will bring together young performers from across the region and internationally renowned professional artists with an impressive and varied programme of workshops, performances and panel discussions.
There will also be a much-anticipated closing gig by talented Project Band musicians, with a special support slot from Project Band alumni Canary Gold.
Highlights of this year’s festival include an open air event which will ‘ignite the spark’ and kick off the week, full length productions from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Youth Theatre, street performances from Modo – Circus with Purpose and APA’s new Young Company, and scratch performances from the emerging artists working with Scottish Youth Theatre’s Making Space programme, which is run in partnership with Aberdeen Performing Arts.
Aberdeen Performing Arts’ drama development co-ordinator, Laura Callahan, said that audiences should expect thought-provoking and entertaining performances, lively discussion and opportunities to learn something new.
She added: “We are really excited to build on and expand what we started with last year’s festival.
There are lots of exciting and fun ideas taking shape, from full length theatre productions to live music and street performances. We’re embracing all performance types and showcasing a broad range of talents.”
Aberdeen Performing Arts, chief executive, Jane Spiers said: “Light the Blue represents the core values of Aberdeen Performing Arts – we aim to create a spark, and nurture home-grown talent.
Light the Blue is a fantastic opportunity to really celebrate all the young talent and creativity we have in the North-east and also to inspire young people to participate in the arts, provide a platform for young people to develop creatively and showcase what they can do.”
Panel discussions with leading arts professionals will look at the future of the arts in Scotland, and throughout the week there will be workshops from industry experts Maskcraft and musicians from Admiral Fallow, as well as a day-long masterclass with renowned theatre company Frantic Assembly.
Young film-makers are also being invited to play a part in Light the Blue, with an opportunity to have a short film screened at the festival. The winner will be announced at the launch event on Monday June 10, and will receive a Light the Blue Festival Pass and a Light the Blue hoodie.
Entrants must be aged 13-19, with no more than six participants per group. The short films should be no longer than three minutes in any style or genre, from comedy, action or film noir to animation, music video or documentary and everything in between, and the deadline for submissions is Friday, May 10.
