Media Release: Innovative ‘Digital Arts Learning Platform’ Prospero Goes Global

Media Release – embargoed to 14 March 2022

From Worcester to the World –

Innovative ‘Digital Arts Learning Platform’ Prospero Goes Global 

·        C&T Theatre company has today launched the latest version of its innovative digital arts learning platform Prospero.

·        The Worcester-based company developed Prospero to allow artists and arts organisations to create bespoke digital arts learning resources and share them with large numbers of schools both locally and around the globe.

·        The Prospero platform solves the problems of artists and arts organisations who want to engage schools and young people through digital technology, but who are on tight budgets and may have limited technical confidence and expertise.

Worcester-based theatre and technology company C&T have today launched a brand new version of their innovative ‘digital arts learning platform’ – Prospero.  Prospero is a digital platform that empowers artists and arts organisations to easily create all kinds of digital learning resources, and share them with, or sell them to schools, colleges and other learning environments.

The new version launched today includes hugely enhanced functionality, including capabilities in virtual reality, augmented reality, GPS tracking and linking multiple devices to create immersive group tasks and games.

The first iteration of Prospero was developed by the C&T team in 2018 for their own use - to allow them to quickly and seamlessly create interactive online learning resources to support their own work. Having received glowing feedback from users, they soon realised that Prospero would be a valuable resource for other artists and organisations, who are expected to ‘do things digitally’ but often don’t have the technical expertise or resources to match their digital ambitions.

C&T Director Paul Sutton said: “We built Prospero to solve a problem that we had, and it worked so well for us that we wanted to make it available to other arts companies who have similar challenges – how to engage ‘digital native’ students with creative ways of learning, and how to share work on a national or even global scale, without spending a fortune on developing bespoke software.

“We couldn’t find anything on the market that was designed by artists, for artists – so we built our own. Prospero lets you create unlimited numbers of interactive lessons, workshops and training sessions to name but a few, which you can sell to schools or let them use for free. And instead of being limited by the number of schools you can physically visit, Prospero gives you the power to reach education audiences globally.”

In 2020, a new version of Prospero was launched which opened up the platform to arts organisations and artists to create their own digital learning resources to share with schools, and this is now being used by organisations as far afield as New York, Kenya and Australia, with over 2400 schools using it worldwide. Prospero was also named ‘Global Education Innovation’ by Helsinki Thinktank HundED in 2020.

Paul’s C&T co-Director Max Dean said of the new version of Prospero, which launched today:

 “Version 3 includes some incredibly exciting new optional functionality, such as GPS, which offers artists the chance to create interactive guides to venues, or to take learners on creative adventures in the real world. We’ve also added VR and AR capabilities, which give opportunities to really engage students in deeply immersive and cutting edge learning experiences – using the tech they already have in their classrooms, and without needing to break the bank or become a technical genius. Prospero does all the digital wizardry for you!”

Paul and Max have just returned to the UK after spending a week in New York City, where they’ve been trialling the latest version of the platform with long-time Prospero users, the New York City Department for Education.

Mitch Mattson, Assistant Director, Education, Roundabout Theater Company, Broadway, New York said: “The skills and expertise that Prospero bring to schools and communities is beneficial and, dare I say, essential. Providing drama and digital technology pedagogy is hands-on, providing skills in a way that other theatres aren’t great at.  They take the pain out of the learning process that many theatre artists associate with technology. After working with C&T you aren’t afraid of digital technology; you want to incorporate it into your theatre, classroom, and art.”

Prospero has been hugely well-received among UK artists and organisations too, with Worcester-based White Socks Theatre being one of the early adopters of the platform. White Socks Director Katy Rooke added: “Prospero’s been brilliant for helping me create the kinds of digital learning resources I’d always wanted to, but didn’t have the time, technical know-how or budget to achieve.

“Since I’ve started using Prospero I can spend more time making work, knowing the technical side is covered. I’ve had amazing feedback from schools who’ve used my resources in lessons, they love how interactive they are, and how they just work on whatever IT they already have.”

Artists and arts organisations of all shapes and sizes can sign up for a Prospero Producer license from just £795 per year, which comes with full one-to-one training and allows them to share their ideas, work and teaching with schools around the world, in the form of lessons, workshops, stories, drama, training and video games.

Anyone interested in becoming a Prospero Producer can visit the newly redeveloped Prospero website www.prospero.digital to find out more about how the system works and what it can do for them, or sign up for a free online demo with a member of the C&T team.

Follow Prospero on social media for all the latest news and updates from the Prospero team:

Instagram @Prospero.Digital

Twitter & Facebook: @ProsperoDigit

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For more information contact Helen Annetts, PR on behalf of C&T on 07779 026720 or email helenlannetts@hotmail.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

Prospero was created by C&T.

C&T are a Worcester-based theatre company and Arts Council England NPO, with a special interest in how drama, learning and technology can be brought together. The company has a thirty-year track record in this field and have an international reputation for their work. Prospero grew out of this conviction and the belief that drama, creativity and technology can inspire, educate and empower.

C&T is a Registered Charity, which means we are not-for-profit. All the income earned from Prospero licenses is invested back into the platform, making it better for users and enhancing the learning opportunities of students and audiences.