The Sunshine Follies 2024. “Sea Your Future”
Promenade Promotions Summer Traineeship
We are delighted to announce that Promenade Promotions has once again been awarded funding from Arts Council England to run our free training programme for emerging artists interested in developing their craft as professional performers at the seasides of South Devon this summer season, 2024.
The scheme has offered three weeks of intensive training in outdoor arts performance and self- employment management skills to emerging performing artists from Devon. These apprenticeships are helping to keep traditional performance forms alive and well. Our trainees then joined our team of performers out on the road this summer, performing professionally at regular free public events in South Devon.
We have been working with our partners – Exeter College, the University of Exeter, Exeter Customs House & Quayside Trust, Theatre Alibi, Dawlish Town Council and a wide range of street artists.
The training has ensured that the skills involved in beach shows are passed down to the next generation of artists. It is the latest part of a project led by Dr Tony Lidington from the University of Exeter & artistic director of local social enterprise Prom-Prom, to bring traditional seaside entertainment back to resorts in Devon and throughout the country
The apprenticeships provide a stimulus for seaside regeneration and local employment for emerging young artists. This is an unique programme of cultural work which is being developed in the South West and a model for other small seasides to follow – Teignmouth, Torquay, Dawlish and Exeter Customs House & Quayside have already benefitted from the project in over the previous 4 years and are keen to develop the initiative further over the coming years.
The apprentices learn to walk on stilts, spin plates, use puppets and get crowds involved in their performance. The apprenticeship also gives them the chance to learn other self-employment skills they’ll need in the industry such as invoicing, marketing, health & safety, risk assessments and using contracts.
This year’s apprentice – Maz McNamara said: “I love the sense of magic and wonder that Prom-Prom creates, and it’s really delightful to be a part of evoking that world for people, and for each other too. It’s been very valuable in developing certain strands of my artistry and expanding who I am as a performer.”
Previous apprentice Josh Meredith, from Dawlish, said: “I applied for this opportunity because I wanted to try something new. […] I love the fact that seaside entertainment is so intimate – you are very exposed because you are working with the audience – but what’s great about it is you get their reaction immediately and it will be wonderful to make people smile and laugh.”
Another former apprentice – Lara Darke said: “I’m really enjoying using comedy and learning to react spontaneously to an audience. I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed ventriloquism and working with puppets, it’s so fun to use my voice in that way.”
