YAF 2019, Warts and All Theatre
YAF 2019, Warts and All Theatre
Rehearsal for Back To 2035, The Castle 2015
YAF 2019, Warts and All Theatre
KITTY BENFORD Theatre Director & Workshop Facilitator
RESUME
Personal Manifesto​​
The older I get and the more young people I work with, the more poignant my youth theatre experience is to me. I was extremely fortunate to live in close proximity to my local theatre. From the age of 11 I was signed up to the Youth Theatre and the older I got the more involved I would get. I truly believe that a large part of my personal development in adolescence was due to the fact I had a safe and encouraging space to explore what is was to be a young adult. Learning how to be respectful, supportive, honest and resilient and more importantly how to form my own, informed, opinions, has helped me greatly as an adult. It is these experiences and the memories that drive my passion to ensure that young people have access to the same quality of activities as I did at their age. And if only one young person I have engaged, goes on to make a career in the arts, well then, thats just a bonus!
About me:
I am based in and around Northamptonshire/Bedfordshire. When I’m not creating theatre or working on a project you can often find me at my sewing machine, turning up clothes (a regular occurrence being 5’3”!) I love to travel and see as much of the wold as I can, when I can. My Family are always raising money to find a Cure for CJD, so I am often planning events or climbing mountains!
Professional Work​
Projects Associate. Warts and All Theatre. Midlands
2018 -Present
In August 2018 I accepted the role of Projects Associate for Warts and All Theatre. The job has allowed me to develop my own expectation of what is excellent as well as providing oodles of training to support my development as an Artist. The company currently engages participants from across Northampton, Wellingborough and Coventry. In 2019 Warts and All Theatre held its first Young Artist Festival, where we has workshops from Hamilton The Musical, Matilda the Musical, Kinky Boots the Musical, and Alan Moore to name a few! For the festival I directed Adam Barnard's Buckets with the Wellingborough 14-21 Young Actors and Lucinda Coxon's What Are They Like with the 9-13 Young Actors, and four Drama Club short plays! Its been a brilliant first year, and I'm excited about what to some in year two!
Youth Theatre Director. Shiny Arts, Wellingborough.
2016-2018
After the closure of The Castle, I was appointed as Youth Theatre Director for Shiny Arts. Shiny Arts' main aim was to ensure that there was still high quality, affordable Youth Arts provision in Wellingborough. In the two years I was in post Shiny produced: two Holocaust Memorial Day shows in partnership with Wellingborough Museum, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe performed at The Castle, These Bridges as part of NT Connections 2018 and Treasure Island. On top of this we also create a performed a number of devised pieces.
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Youth Theatre Director. The Castle Theatre, Wellingborough
​2015 - 2016
As Youth Theatre Director I was responsible for planning events and projects that branch across different disciplines. On a weekly basis I led around 60 young people from the age of 7-18 years as part of the youth theatre. One of my biggest projects was planning and organising the re-brand of the annual Regional Youth Theatre Festival as we made it national. The Big Youth Theatre Weekender, saw more youth theatres than ever visit The Castle.
"Kitty is highly creative and enthusiastic in her role as Youth Theatre Director at The Castle. She encourages young people to have fun whilst learning a wide variety of theatre techniques and her directing is always appropriate and on trend. Kitty is a great team player and has a professional manner at all times." Alexandra Snell - Participation and Engagement Manager
Professional Skills
Workshop Facilitator
Rehearsal Facilitator
Organised and resourceful
Stage Management
Extensive experience working with young people
Script-writing
Full Chaperone License and Enhanced DBS
Full Driving License (Clean)
Qlabs Experience
Photoshop and music editing experience
Competent use of sewing machine
Performer Skills
Children's Theatre
Comic Timing
Singing
Movement and Physical Theatre
Shakespeare Actor training with 1623
Experience in Childrens Story telling​
Public Speaking
Event Hosting
Education
University of Bedfordshire.
MA Performing Arts: Creative Practice and Leadership
2016-2017
A large focus of the Masters course was training to become a facilitator, with a number of units specialising in creating accessible workshops and learning how to cater to different physical and educational needs. The main practical element of the course was to create a new small scale performance. #WEBLIES2K17 was a devised play that used movement and audience interaction to explore the idea that what we see on the internet is not always the truth. #WEBLIES2K17 was also performed at BedFringe 2017. My Masters dissertation looked at current Youth Theatre practice in the UK, the connections it has with the personal development in adolescents and where improvements could be made in the sector.
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Theatre and Professional Practice - BA Hons
​2013 - 2016
​ In my third year, I was been able to perform, direct, learn about the process to a production and how to manage a company. As well as learning the in and outs of the industry, the course explored and worked with many of the critical theories within European theatre and further afield. From Meyerhold's Biomechanics to the internationally acclaimed forum theatre styles of Augusto Boal. University productions as perfromer include Chadwick in Simon Stephen's Punk Rock, and two devised shows, 07/10/13 and Rutherfords, both directed by JM Rossi.
"She is a reliable, disciplined and devoted student. Her sense of responsibility to the creative process, combined with her developing creative skills has allowed Kitty to emerge as a leader" JM Rossi - Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for Theatre & Professional Practice