TGT Meets... Filiz Ozcan, Associate Director at Prime Theatre, Swindon

Recently, Prime Theatre have recruited a new Associate Director for their Youth Theatre, Filiz Ozcan, so we caught up with her to find out more about her new role, the Youth Theatre and what they can expect from Prime Theatre in the coming months!

Tell us a little bit about yourself… 

As well as loving theatre I am a big fan of extreme sports. I love skydiving, white water rafting and open water diving, I am always looking for my next adventure! I moved to Swindon at the beginning of the year to join Prime Theatre, but before I moved here I worked for other theatre companies in their outreach and education departments such as Pegasus Theatre in Oxford, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Tara Theatre and Jacksons Lane in London and the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme.   I am also a director of theatre and festivals. I enjoy directing classical and contemporary plays, I also have worked with diverse communities in lots of outreach projects all over the country.  

I am the Joint Artistic Director of Komola Collective, an arts organisation based in London, specialising in telling stories from female perspectives.

What inspired you to fulfil a career in this industry? What inspired you to work for Prime Theatre? 

As a child, I enjoyed creating stories and I was inspired by my Drama teacher in secondary school who fuelled my love for theatre. I loved the opportunity to be creative and to work with others. I was inspired to work for Prime Theatre because it develops high-quality projects and engagement with and for young people.  I am also very excited to create and develop new projects with the communities in Swindon. 

Tell us a little bit about the Youth Theatre… 

Prime Youth Theatre is for young people from 7 years old. We deliver weekly drama workshops to grow young peoples confidence, teamwork and focus through developing their drama and performance skills.  

Who is the Youth Theatre most suited too?  

Anyone from the age of 7 years old who would like to take part of a dramatic activity.  

What can people expect from the Youth Theatre?  

Lots of drama games, joy of building new friendships. Opportunity to express themselves in a safe space to share their thoughts and ideas. 

Those who want a future in theatre, how will this help? 

They will get the opportunity to work with professional directors and find pathways into the creative industry. Prime Theatre offers work experience and placements to deepen their understanding of creating with and for young audiences. We have relationships with drama schools to support young people into further education. Prime also support young creatives to develop their own projects from budgeting to fundraising.  

Being the new associate director in charge of the Youth Theatre, are there any changes you’re hoping to make? What can people look forward too? E.g future plans etc 

I am currently developing a project with Young Artists aged 18 and over.They are 5 young artist responding to a commission exploring what identity means in Swindon. Another piece of work I am currently developing is offering training opportunity for emerging theatre practitioners.