Seaford Musical Theatre Junior Section

Seaford Musical Theatre Juniors, a community youth performing arts group, was formed in 2011 by Paula Woolven and Shar Turnbull and has grown to over 80 members between the ages of 6 and 18. Membership, subscription and show costs are held at minimum or no cost to promote inclusive opportunities for young people and we are supported financially by local patrons and charity fundraising events. Our friendly group encourages personal development through performance based learning, community interaction and volunteering. Confidence, Creativity and Consideration for others is the ethos of SMTJ. Recent projects have included : creative writing project ‘Beyond The Torch Run' by Paralympian Kristina Veasey, a masterclass with West End Director, Colin Billing, assisting members to achieve National Arts Award and Vinspired Awards, an anti-bullying film 'Everybody's Different', trained chaperones in overcoming teen mental health issues, a pop video in aid of a children’s hospice, a healthy food dance initiative ('Un Kilo De Ayuda'), supported entries into an arts and crafts show, funded qualifications and training for young people by recognized providers and much more. Since our creation we have been finalists in the 'What's On For Me?' awards and National finalists in the Epic Awards for Voluntary Arts Groups, reaching the final six for England from over 60,000 groups in the UK and Ireland. We were delighted to win the Spark Award 2014 and were recognised in several other categories including volunteering opportunities and social media project success. We were also named as the winners of the 2014 East Sussex Young People's Awards for the arts/media category. We were awarded the Inspiring Project Award from the British Youth Council for encouraging exciting and innovative youth participation, along with the Young Mayor's Award for Community Groups in Seaford. Our dedicated, unpaid, team of volunteer chaperones are trained and DBS checked.