Upshoot Theatre Company

The UpShoot Story

In 2011 UpShoot Theatre Company came into being. Set up by Laila France (then Choat), who was inspired to kick off this exciting theatrical force largely because of her involvement with the Fisher Youth Theatre Group (FYTG). Laila is a director of FYTG with her partner Darren France who was equally excited about the UpShoot idea, and inspiration was further driven by the many young performers who had been involved in FYTG.  UpShoot was going to be about new theatre; modern, cutting edge, daring and playful, theatre that stretched our minds and appealed to a younger demographic.

Over 20 years of working with young people in FYTG had created a large pool of people in the community hungry to continue exploring theatre arts and performance, some of whom were aiming themselves toward professional careers in performance. Creating these opportunities became our first objective.  

Other members of the community told us they were keen to explore theatre arts for the first time; younger and older adults expressed an interest in being involved in the community theatre projects UpShoot proposed. Facilitating these creative opportunities became our next objective.

We understand the impact that UpShoot’s theatre and performing arts activities have on peoples wellbeing and the wellbeing of the community as a whole. People who get involved and those who enjoy our offerings consistently tell us that we are a greatly valued arts provider in the area.  

UpShoot has become a collective of people dedicated to producing high quality, accessible theatre that can be enjoyed by all.  We work with the creativity and enthusiasm of local people to create performance in a range of community spaces.  Our productions are often original and based on local stories. They are for, with and about the people of the communities in which they are set.

UpShoot invites people to join its theatre making projects through its community networks, collaborators and supporters. UpShoot is a non-profit making community group, most of our work being produced and delivered by unpaid contributors. UpShoot collaborates with the Fisher Theatre, engaging audiences and donating surplus box-office income to the Fisher Theatre.

UpShoot also produces commissioned and funded theatre projects, and in-house productions commissioned by the Fisher Theatre, for these projects local professional performers and artists are recruited  

Values – Vision – Mission

• Inspire and involve people
• Create theatre with the community for the community
• Collaborate and co-produce with a range of partners
• Create relevant home-grown performance arts
• Contribute to the improved health, wellbeing of the community through collaborative performance arts projects
• Celebrate people and places through the creating of theatre
• Provide opportunities for young performers wanting to pursue a career in performance art
• Deliver theatre that engages younger audiences and new generations of people involved in performing arts

For more information visit the UpShoot Wesite.