Spotlight: Thomas McClure
Thomas is a 23-year-old writer and video producer based in Castle Douglas. He completed a film internship at CatStrand in 2021 and has graduated from the University of Glasgow with a Master of Letters in Creative Writing.
We are really excited to be working with Thomas McClure on an upcoming filmmaking workshop, as part of the ‘Upskills’ workshops initiative. The initiative offers graduates the opportunity to ‘train up’ to work as practitioners in a field they are interested in and share their skills with others. The objective of the ‘Upskills’ workshops for those participating is to enable teenagers aged 15+ to learn more about what careers exist in the arts, what they entail, and how young people can access them.
Beginning November 5th at Crossmichael Arts, Thomas will be leading a 6-week filmmaking workshop focused on working within a small crew to produce a short fiction film. The workshop will be open to young people aged between 15-20 years old to introduce them to a range of filmmaking skills and the nature of collaborating within a creative team to carry out a project to completion.
Thomas has been closely involved with CatStrand since 2018, starting off as a CatStrand Youth Volunteer for several years. As a volunteer, he helped with all sorts of projects, from working on the phone booth and fundraising for good causes, to contributing to the 2020 climate performance "Our Kind: Once Upon a Planet" and setting up local Halloween parties, Movies in the Park and Easter fun days. He has also been a part of our Jump Cut sessions where he learned a lot about filmmaking, helping him to get a start in his creative career. Later he returned to lead the Dalry Random Writers group for several weeks. After being able to explore his creative passions with the CatStrand, he went on to complete a Creative Writing Master's course at the University of Glasgow, which he expresses he is extremely proud of and wouldn't have been able to do without the support of his friends and community.
Thomas says:
“Being able to make friends and get involved in creative and community-based events was so helpful to me, both for my mental health as I was able to cool off when I was on my two Childcare courses at the Dumfries and Galloway College, and for my creative expression, allowing me to follow my passion around people with similar interests. I've always been creative and outspoken, from writing short stories on my website to producing big project videos on my YouTube channel, and I'm always up for the next challenge. Everything I do is driven by my passion to either teach or be taught, and that can be seen in my stories and their messages, as well as in my background as a mentor and childcare practitioner.
I’m very excited to be involved with the CatStrand again helping to deliver the upcoming filmmaking project. If I can help young people get the same enriching experience that the CatStrand gave me when I was younger, then I'll be so proud of myself and everyone involved.”
Tickets for the workshop will need to be booked in advance as there are limited spaces. Keep an eye out on our Facebook and Instagram pages for further details to come!
Examples of Thomas’ work can be found here: