Local schools, shared stages and creative learning
Figueres a Escena, the performing arts organisation and venue network in Figueres, Catalonia, believes that theatre matters most when young people encounter it as part of their own lives. Our partnership with local schools connects performances at Teatre El Jardí and Sala La Cate with classroom questions, practical making and the people around each campus. Artists listen to teachers and pupils, while schools help shape work that is relevant, welcoming and easy to join.
Through ATEB, our theatre school, children, young people and adults can encounter the methods behind performance. They may watch a rehearsal, join a workshop, discuss a production or develop their own piece. These activities reveal theatre as a working process and a creative discipline, rather than simply an evening of entertainment.
For Australian educators, families and arts workers, this model offers useful reference points. The Australian Curriculum, school timetables, local venues, safeguarding duties and touring markets all shape what can happen. The value lies in adapting a strong collaborative practice to each community, not copying an overseas program word for word.
A partnership built for real learning
Collaboration should begin with a clear purpose: whether it is to deepen understanding of a production, build confidence through performance, or give pupils sustained access to artists. Figueres a Escena combines age-appropriate performances with talks, workshops and rehearsal visits, allowing educators and artists to co-design an encounter that develops across several sessions rather than relying on a single auditorium trip.
Different cohorts need different forms of involvement, so the right format depends on learning priorities, available time and the size of the group.
| Partnership format | Main purpose | What schools contribute | What the arts team contributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance encounter | Interpret a staged work | Context, preparation questions and follow-up | Suitable show, artist introduction and discussion |
| Workshop visit | Build practical confidence | Learning priorities, timetable and support | Voice, movement, music, story or technical sessions |
| Creative project | Create and present new work | Themes, teacher mentoring and rehearsal space | Devising, coaching, technical support and a public outcome |
| ATEB pathway | Develop skills over time | Cohort selection, progression and pastoral coordination | Regular training and links to performance opportunities |
Teachers remain essential partners in every model. A single performance may suit a first visit, while a cohort returning over a term may gain more from a creative project. Teachers interpret the work for a curriculum, identify barriers to participation and create the trust that lets young people speak honestly about their responses. Artists gain a clearer sense of what pupils already know, what they want to investigate and how an idea can travel beyond the rehearsal room.
Turning spectators into participants
A school visit can move comfortably from watching to doing. After seeing a performance, pupils might map a character’s decisions, write a scene from another viewpoint, compose a soundscape or use movement to explore relationships. These tasks make close observation feel active while giving teachers multiple ways to connect with drama, English, music, dance and visual design. Where a project calls for movement, circus or devised performance, specialist input can deepen the work: partnerships with organisations such as Volvox STNK can bring inventive movement and ensemble problem-solving into the process.
ATEB gives that creative work a progression. A one-off taster can lead to regular classes, and regular participation can open routes into advanced groups, rehearsal responsibilities or collaborative projects. The theatre school, public events and venue program operate as one connected network, giving participants a reason to keep engaging beyond a single visit.
Teachers also benefit from seeing artists work. A rehearsal can reveal how a director interprets a text, how designers solve a problem and how a group negotiates trust. Sharing those decisions turns the venue into a professional learning resource, while young people gain an honest picture of the discipline, its repetition and collaborative nature.
A network rooted in community
Local schools sit inside wider neighbourhoods, so a partnership can serve families and community groups as well as pupils. In Figueres, within the wider Alt Empordà area, the linked venues of Teatre El Jardí and Sala La Cate offer familiar civic places for performances, talks, workshops and rehearsals. A school can become a route into this network for children who might not think of a theatre as a space meant for them.
Comparable patterns are visible across Australia. In Sydney and Melbourne, students often travel to cultural venues by train, bus or tram and need a practical timetable that fits school bell times. In Brisbane and Perth, a central venue can still require a substantial journey from some schools. Planning around morning recess, lunch, after-school care and public transport turns access into an educational concern rather than an administrative detail.
Schools are also gathering places in their own right. Assemblies, lunchtime performances and family workshops can create low-pressure entry points, while open rehearsals let the community see how work develops. Used carefully, these activities extend the life of a show, strengthen local identity and give children meaningful roles beyond being an audience.
Models that work within school realities
A robust proposal states the learning intention, cohort, dates, budget and decision-maker before artistic details are settled. Schools know when curriculum pressure peaks; artists know the lead time needed to develop a show and prepare performers. Agreeing those realities early creates a partnership in which educational work is not appended after a production is already packaged.
Safeguarding determines how that work is arranged. Australian schools and venues operate under state and territory requirements for child safety, supervision, accessibility, privacy and occupational health and safety. In New South Wales, this includes obligations associated with the Child Protection Act 1908 and Working with Children Act 2000; other jurisdictions use parallel but different rules. A sound agreement records who leads each session, who holds relevant checks, how consent is obtained and how concerns are escalated.
The Australian Curriculum includes The Arts, while state and territory requirements and each school’s priorities shape how much time can be devoted to it. The wider cultural market matters too: touring companies often combine box-office income, grants, philanthropy and education budgets, and schools make choices from a crowded calendar of excursions. A partnership therefore needs a modest purpose, a clear timetable and enough flexibility to survive a wet day, staffing change or bus disruption.
Evaluation should focus on evidence of participation and progression: teacher feedback, changes in pupil confidence, completed creative work and continued engagement with ATEB. Numbers of tickets sold matter for the venue, but they are only one measure of a school relationship.
Bring the partnership to life
Whether you represent a primary school, secondary school, community centre or family group, a useful first step is to identify one shared objective. It might be a curriculum-linked performance visit, a series of workshops in the school, a teacher encounter with the rehearsal process or a pathway into ATEB for a particular age group.
Bring the school timetable, likely group size, access requirements and a plain description of the learning intention to the first planning conversation. From there, the arts team can match the format to the setting, meet the appropriate safeguarding requirements and set dates that protect both teaching time and performer preparation.
Contact the team using the program details published by Figueres a Escena to propose a school performance, workshop or ATEB activity, or to ask about adapting the partnership approach for your setting. A focused first visit can become a lasting program when teachers, artists, families and young people all have a role in deciding what happens next.