Gill Dowsett
 Gill is the co-founder, and Director of Theatr Fforwm Cymru.
She is a Teacher/trainer/facilitator of over 30 years’ standing.
Gill taught drama in schools and within social services settings, and set up and coordinated arts projects for the London Borough of Sutton Youth and Community Service.
When Gill moved to Wales in 1989, she set up Fishguard and Goodwick Youth Club, tutored on in-service training for Dyfed Youth Service and, as a “disaffected teacher” set-up Theatr Fforwm Cymru to work with Theatre as Education, with Anna Gifford, in 1993
Gill is an extremely experienced youth worker, trainer, and facilitator who has recently been involved in training Eastern and Western European teachers, youth workers, and psychologists; working with professionals involved in HIV and human trafficking in Ukraine, and developing an Emotional Intelligence work pack.
Gill’s particular passions are emotional intelligence and mindfulness; and, through wide research and writing, combines her role as a “story listener” with the task of driving forwards the direction of Theatr Fforwm Cymru whilst ensuring its continuing integrity and passion.
Gill is mum to 3 adult daughters and a proud grandmother of an ever-expanding brood!
Freelance Workers
As with so many charities, Theatr Fforwm Cymru’s funding situation means that we are loath to take on permanent staff with no guarantee of job security. We have built up a pool of freelance sessional workers, who
- Are fully trained in forum theatre and the specific methodology of Theatr Fforwm Cymru
- Have access to continuous professional development
- Have access to counselling and non managerial supervision
- Have their own specialist expertise over a wide range of community arts disciplines
In this way we have the flexibility to call on the most appropriate worker for the job, and those we work with benefit from a wide range of enthusiasms, expertise and backgrounds
We work with a large number of artists through our BBC Children in Need funded Emotional Intelligence project and a number of other artists currently. For example:
Deri Morgan-Davies
Forum theatre specialist, youth worker and youth theatre practitioner. Deri has been associated
with Theatr Fforwm Cymru from its very inception. Deri works on a regular basis with the Amber Project and is a valued member of our team. She is currently working in the new Swansea office on the Awards for All development project and on organising Theatr Fforwm's part of the Next Practice Gruntvig exchange.
Deri and her daughter Arwen
Llew Jones
Rap and beat box artist, youth worker and sports worker. Llew again has worked and volunteered with Theatr Fforwm Cymru for a long time, and is particularly involved with film making. Llew has recently moved to London but he will continue to work on some projects with us as part of our team.
Hattie Hendra
Is currently working for Theatr Fforwm Cymru in Swansea, helping to set up and run the new office, and working on the Awards for All development project as well as other projects and funding bids. Her debut role as a Theatr Fforwm Cymru actor/member was as one of the notorious Ugly Sistas at the Small Nations festival this year. She has spent the last 12 years working for charities in Swansea such as Interplay, WISE, and Circus Eruption, with the occasional break for travel and volunteering.
Hattie's most challenging and life changing experiences in that time were an aid convoy to Kosovo in 1999, a month of volunteering in Bosnia in 2007, a 3 month Circus-Teacher Training course with the NoFitState Circus, and giving birth (to young Bob, never far from her side!) In her free time she enjoys hula-hoops, swinging around a large chain with fire at each end, swimming, singing and food(the making and the eating!)
She looks forward to being involved in the ongoing development and delivery of Theatr fforwm Cymru's work...so watch this space!!
Volunteers - Back to Top of Page
Theatr Fforwm Cymru has always worked with a core group of volunteers, our “magic ingredient” in terms of energy, role-modelling and engaging forum theatre. Our volunteers travel with us to conferences and workshops, in Wales and beyond. Traditionally, our volunteer core group has consisted primarily of young unwaged people who were looking for a “breathing space” – and many have gone on to further education and careers in people professions. Increasingly now, our volunteer group is multi-generational…..
Volunteer Quotes;
As a volunteer at Theatr Fforwm Cymru, I (of course) think it’s brilliant. I think it really helps kids and teachers raise their emotional awareness. I think it’s also extremely good for the volunteers. I, as a volunteer, have learnt loads of things, sometimes I feel that volunteering with Fforwm helps me more than the kids and teachers. I have learnt how to deal with situations that I otherwise would not have known or even thought about how to deal with.
Working with Fforwm has really raised my confidence and self-worth. It has helped me grows as a person and to be aware of people’s emotions and things that are happening around me.
EMMY O.C. BEIJDORFF
Comment (Young Volunteer in a circle meeting)
“This week I’ve been looking at people I pass in the street. They are all beautiful”
Comment (Older woman’s remark at Age Concern/ThFfC Group Workshop)
“If my husband was here I wouldn’t be able to take part in these dotty games, I’d be too shy and embarrassed”.
Working as a volunteer, especially working with Age Concern Workshops, has confirmed to me the need now for Society to return to wisdom, the wisdom lodged in the elders. The elders need to become again responsible and worthy to hold the wisdom.
They need to get back the courage to stand on their own beautiful identities so that the young will listen to them. But first the elders will quietly listen in silence and in humility to the young.I think the hope and challenge offered by the work of ThFfC in this respect is VITAL in helping to bridge the modern (and false) divide between age and youth.
SHEILA KNAPP-FISHER
For more information about EVS, click here www.icpwales.org
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