Steps & London Bubble combine creative forces

Steps is delighted to be working with local theatre company London Bubble.  London Bubble is an inclusive, intergenerational theatre company - working with professional and non-professional actors from across London at their base in Rotherhithe.  The company seek to communicate, connect and inspire, ensuring that every Londoner has access to creating, participating in, and enjoying theatre.

Steps is delighted to have supported this year's LB360 programme, working with London Bubble to provide practical training opportunities to young people aged 16+ who are not in education, employment or training.



The programme is a fun and practical way for participants to explore theatre, gain a qualification and potentially get a step closer to starting work.  LB360 gives participants the opportunity to learn new skills in workshops led by experienced professionals, devise and tour a piece of forum theatre, train to lead drama workshops, get advice, support and guidance with applying for work or further training, undertake a work experience placement and work towards an Arts Award qualification.

This 16 week, part time programme gives individuals the chance to build their confidence and skill set in performance, improvisation, forum theatre techniques and feedback skills.   Each project is slightly different, and Steps was able to offer a few different opportunities to collaborate - making for a very rich participant experience.

The first programme we partnered on was called 'Respect in the City'.  Working with Deloitte LLP, we were able to bring together two very different groups - one representing the world of the square mile and one representing the very different world that exists just a few postcodes away.  It was a great dynamic - and through these differences and using interactive techniques we began exploring intergenerational issues, unconscious bias and respect. 

Individuals from LB360 had the opportunity to present a piece of theatre within the training session, responded to feedback and hotseat-style questioning and had the opportunity to share their views and feedback with the delegates.  It was an enlightening moment - for some of the LB360 participants it was their first time in the city, for some of the delegates, the first time they'd stopped to talk to young people and understand more about the issues facing them.

'These are a group of extremely bright young people', said Eleana Portis, Senior Employee Engagement Manager at Deloitte LLP, 'It was an absolute pleasure to work with them and I intend to continue to support where I can in the future.'

Following this highly successful collaboration, the LB360 team worked closely with Steps again to deliver an interactive session at the City HR Annual Conference, attended by representatives from over 80 city firms.  Following this project, some of the participants (those 18+) went on to join Steps' associate pool, taking paid placements on our client programmes in London and further afield.

We're really proud of our association with London Bubble - and look forward to continuing our relationship. The LB360 project has been identified as a hugely successful venture. Prior to our work together, funding had sadly come to an end. However, subsequent to, and partly because of our involvement together, the LB360 project has attracted 3 year funding from the London Bridge Business Development District (2011-2014). Our role in securing this funding is something Steps is deeply proud of.

To read more about the project please download the brochure here.  Alternatively you can visit the London Bubble website www.londonbubble.org.uk.

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