Charlotte’s Leadership Journey
“Lots of people talk about wanting to change their lives. This could be my opportunity to change my life for the future!” – Charlotte Little
For the last 18 months, DIY Leaders Charlotte Little and Amy Carter have been part of the Transforming Leadership Programme, an exciting project to support learning disabled and autistic people to become leaders in the arts. Charlotte has been doing a paid co-directing traineeship, and Amy has been doing a paid governance traineeship.
The programme is led by Access All Areas and involves eight arts organisations, including DIY Theatre, Mind the Gap, Blue Apple Theatre, Unanima, Square Pegs, Prism Arts and Hubbub. The programme aims to:
- Share skills and good practice in co-directing and inclusive governance
- Create training and pathways for learning disabled leaders
- Build relationships with arts venues so disabled leaders are genuinely included and represented
Charlotte’s Residency Training in London
An important part of the programme has been the residential training courses. Last September, DIY Core Company members Amy, went to a governance residency in London, and Charlotte went to a directing residency in Nottingham. This year, Charlotte went to a second directing residency in London, from 3rd to 6th September. The sessions were held at The Old Diorama Arts Centre.
On the train to London, Charlotte shared her thoughts:
Question: What are you looking forward to at the residential?
Charlotte: “I’m looking forward to working with Lee from Access All Areas – I’ve only seen him on Zoom. I’ve never seen him in person. Meeting up with the group and just finding out what they’ve been up to. I don’t know if they’ve all started their placements yet. 2 or 3 hadn’t started their placements when we were last on Zoom. Sharing ideas for the future – just to see what people are doing in the future with all their groups.”
Question: How do you feel about doing a presentation about your placement tomorrow?
Charlotte: “I already know I’ve done one so I know I can do it. I feel confident – I know I’ve got it in me to do another one.”
Question: Do you think it’s a good idea to do a residential?
Charlotte: “Yes, because if you’re always on Zoom you’re only connecting on a screen. Where if you’re on a residential in person, you can put a face to the name and you can share ideas. You get confident of going to different places and you make new connections and you can use them connections to do a day trip to visit other groups and share skills.”
The three-day residency was packed with activities. Day one was all about getting used to being in a room together again and sharing experiences from the directing placements. Each trainee shared something from their placement – this could be a story, a game, or an exercise. Charlotte talked about her work co-directing a scene with YES Drama at The Lowry, sharing what went well and what could have been better.
On day two, trainees worked on text with two actors from Access All Areas. In the evening, the group went to dinner and saw a performance of Our Country’s Good at the Lyric, Hammersmith. On the last day, trainees reflected on the show, did an evaluation session, and talked about what’s next after the programme ends in March 2025.
Charlotte Reflects on the Experience
Halfway through the residency, Charlotte shared her thoughts:
Question: How is the residential going so far?
Charlotte: “I’m really enjoying being back with all my friends – learning new skills of what they’ve been up to.”
Question: How did the presentation session go?
Charlotte: “My legs were going like jelly at first but once I got into the presentation, I really enjoyed it. It’s a good skill to have because if you went for a job interview you could think of it like a presentation. I liked all the presentations, and I liked it how we mixed it up where we were sitting down then we went into a physical game then we were sitting down again. So it wasn’t always sitting down, which was good. I liked the way Hannah played one of the games I knew but with a different spin on it. I will definitely try it out at DIY.”
Question: What are you looking forward to?
Charlotte: “I’m looking forward to tonight because it was always a dream for me to watch a performance in one of the London theatres. I’m looking forward to using the drama language, because when I use it in a directing position I want it to roll off the tongue.”
What’s Next?
Charlotte continued to reflect on the trip during the train ride home. She shared the highlights of her time, what she learned, and what she’ll be bringing back to DIY Theatre.
As for the Transforming Leadership Programme, it finishes in March 2025. Over the autumn, directors and governance online training sessions will continue. DIY and other partners involved in the programme will keep sharing best practice and exploring potential progression routes for disabled leaders.
In Spring 2025, the Transforming Leadership programme will be evaluated, and the learning from it will be shared with others. DIY Theatre, like the other organisations involved, will be working hard to embed and build on the experience and learning that have emerged from the programme.
Watch this space for more exciting developments from DIY Theatre and the leaders of tomorrow!
Transforming Leadership has been integrated into our Leading Edge programme which is funded through The National Lottery Community Fund. Thanks to Arts Council England for their support for the Transforming Leadership Initiative. Thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund for their support of our ambitious Leading Edge Programme.