Abstrakt
Youth Theatre is a transnational institution existing in different parts of the world. It is based on a tradition of the London National Youth Theatre founded in the mid-twentieth century.
At present, it brings together 220 children who have experience of living in-between Anglophone family and Czech country. My question is: How does this transnational institution correspond to the children's feelings of belonging and how does it contribute to the formation of their identity? The research is conducted on the basis of anthropological research, semi-structured interviews with actors in one group of teenagers aged 15-18 years old and participatory observation of rehearsals and performance of their play.
The research sample consists of 15 teenagers and one teacher in the role of director. Based on the research, I come to the following conclusions.
The children reflect their position in two social spaces and do not belong to any of them completely, they feel different from both spaces, they feel in-between. The YT brings together children from different in-between families and at the same time, it offers knowledge that transcends these spaces.
These children articulate their appreciation of the place where their feelings of incomplete integration can be shared, where they can be themselves and not feel exceptional. Here they experience acceptance and belonging, otherness is the norm, they are not considered "weird", but are all "wonderful".
They work with their otherness as a self-characteristic and otherness is a part of their identity. The second generation of migrants often have ties to the country of origin only or mainly through their parents, yet they experience a certain nature of otherness.
The second generation is exposed to various levels of socialization (schools, streets, media) in the new country, at the same time they are socialized by its own family in the social field of its parents' country of origin. These children cannot fully identify with their parents' country of origin and at the same time feel that they cannot share all their experiences with people from the host country.