The streets of Brooklyn and Queen’s in New York City are a long way from Enniskillen, but one local actor has made his home there and is having a huge impact on kids in the area.
Co Fermanagh native Francis Blacklock first moved to the US after he graduated from drama school, having been involved in youth theatre in his hometown as a child.
He soon found his calling with My Voice Theatre, which helps disadvantaged children in the city, bringing them off the streets and away from trouble in school and drugs and alcohol problems.
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Speaking to MyFermanagh, Francis said he first discovered his passion for the stage while in Enniskillen.
“I was involved in a youth theatre programme in Enniskillen when I was a kid, it was the Enniskillen Youth Theatre and then became the Ardhowen Youth Theatre,” Francis said.
“That’s really where I discovered my passion for being on stage and thought maybe I could make a career out of this. I felt like I was at home when I was on stage.
“I now run My Voice Theatre, which is an issue based youth theatre programme after school and that has been going for 26 years.
“We initially started doing reactive work, working with young people who had already gotten into trouble and who were at risk of dropping out of school or getting involved with drugs and alcohol.
“We wanted to find a way of reaching young people before any of that stuff happened.
“So we developed this programme as a way of providing a safe space for those kids, where they could talk about the issues that really affected them.
“It’s a therapeutic programme for the young people are in it, but also for the young people that come along to watch our shows.”
Francis was recently named as the ‘New Yorker of the Week’ by a local magazine in recognition for his work with young people, but admitted when he first came to the city he hated it.
He added: “When I first came to New York I was in a camp upstate so I was kind of out in the sticks, that was fairly similar to home.
“We would come into the city on our days off and I initially hated New York City, I thought the people were rude and it was too loud.
“In Enniskillen you’re walking down the street and even if you don’t know somebody they’ll smile at you and say hello.
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“I quickly discovered over here that you don’t do that because you could get punched in the face or people might think you have mental health issues.
“There was definitely an adjustment that I needed to make so that I didn’t stick out so much over here.
“At this point I do consider myself a New Yorker, but Enniskillen is always home.”
On where his passion for helping young people reach their potential came from, Francis said it’s not something he ever envisaged.
“I never wanted to work with kids - when I was growing up it was something I said I never wanted to do.
“So nobody was more surprised than me that 28 years later I am still working with young people and still finding so much joy and passion in the work that I do every single day.
“All I can say is that I’ve arrived where I’m supposed to be.”
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