FiRST ACT Youth manchester

Hercules high - NEw web series

The First Act message is spreading and the acting class now attracts 20 students per week. These young artists have recently worked with professional photographers, sound engineers and filmmakers to produce the first episode in a drama series which explores the issues young people face in their everyday lives.

Hercules High features the interlacing stories of young people in Manchester. As their journeys unfold we discover their hopes, their dreams and the issues they must overcome to get there. Will Bobby B make it as a rapper? Will Kyla finally find a place to call home? Will Diane always bear the scars of the care system? Find out in the first 3 episodes of Series One, made by young people, for young people, exploring real issues they face in everyday life – at school, at home and in their community.

As well as acting and co-devising the series they have also created an original score to ensure a fresh sound to the piece. A screening of this work will take place at HOME theatre in Manchester (date TBC) and will involve participation from the students, giving them the chance to experience not just acting, but all that surrounds it: appearing in trailers and adverts online and across Manchester, talking to the press, introducing their own work on stage, seeing their characters come to life on screen, and, we hope, becoming an internet sensation. Follow us on Instagram and Facbook to keep updated, and hit SUBSCRIBE now over on the Hercules Productions YouTube to see the rest of the series!

THE FIRST ACT Programme

First Act Youth Manchester was the brainchild of Marcus Hercules, founder of Hercules Productions, an actor, creative and father from Manchester who felt driven to give under-represented young people the chance to learn music and acting skills and produce a body of visible work. Thanks to his vision and funding from Children In Need and Awards For All, the project has reached over 50 young people aged 7-16 years since it began in 2017, providing regular free acting classes with a professional teacher and the chance to meet other like-minded young people from Greater Manchester.  

This is not just about teaching acting skills to young people. It is about giving them a voice. Many of the actors come from minority or harder-to-reach backgrounds which are under-represented on screen; First Act Youth Manchester hopes to change that and give them the chance to shine on screen and in their lives.