Where has the time gone? Everyone connected with our Creative Learning team at The Met has been working harder than ever since lockdown began to keep our participants creative and engaged. We wanted to keep you all updated with how they’re getting on… 

• Bury Youth Theatre have been working on a national initiative called ‘The Coronavirus Time Capsule’ devised by Company Three. They are sharing their weekly videos through their Facebook page. For more information on how to get involved with BYT, contact steph.meskellbrocken@themet.org.uk. 
• Met Express and Aiming High have also been busy keeping in touch through their Facebook pages where they complete creative challenges and share ideas for games and activities. 
• Engage 2 Stage were successful in achieving funding from the Bury Council COVID-19 support fund in early May and, after completing work on their brand new shiny website, are now hosting online workshops for their group. The ‘Online Lifeline’ programme will be taking place every Thursday at 3pm on Zoom for an hour and a half where sessions will be free and relaxed, and all about stretching your performance muscles with some improvisation, voice work, singing and scripts. Sessions start on the 21st May. If you would like to join or find out more you can contact the group on engage2stage@email.com.   
• Alfa Education have also started their very own online choir after the Easter holiday to huge success. They are hosting sessions on Zoom every Tuesday 6-7pm and you can get in touch with them directly on admin@alfaeducation.co.uk if you would like to join this 45 strong group. 

Another project we’re excited to be supporting is the Pop-Up Play Shop in Radcliffe run by Suzanna Law. Susanna is co-founder of Pop-Up Adventure Play, a charity that works with adults all over the world to provide open-ended play opportunities for children, no matter the circumstance. Susanna and Morgan have been supporting parents during the lockdown on both sides of the Atlantic through creative play ideas via their Facebook group and have recently been featured in a podcast episode talking about the importance of play during adverse circumstances. Their message is that play isn’t just for children, it’s vital for each and every one of us. It’s 30 minutes of your day that will hopefully give you a breath of fresh air, so go and have a listen! 

The Education and Learning team at The Met have come together to share their favourite drama games in a new resource for families who are spending more time at home and want to get creative. The resource can be read and downloaded here and also features videos from the team.   

How can you help? We need your support to develop capacity to build digital content for our workshop groups, and equip our workshop leaders with the skills necessary to support their members online. Not only will this ensure our members are not completely isolated during this time, but it will also help them to have a smooth transition back into the venue when we re-open. You can help us to support our community by donating to our Coronavirus Closure Fund.