Simulations

Who are we?

Out of Character is a theatre company comprising people who have lived experience of mental ill health, supported by students and staff from York St John University and theatre professionals.

All About Simulations

What is Simulations?

We provide a ‘simulated patient’ service to universities and colleges training health and social care professionals. Give us patient scenarios and we will develop convincing characterisations to present to students. We also offer feedback to students to help them improve their interaction with patients. This has been used in seminars and formal assessment moments.

Why choose us?

We are a company of experienced and talented performers whose experiences of mental health problems informs our work and gives authenticity to our performances. We have a track record of delivering affective simulated patient workshops and performances for York St John University, University of York and University of Huddersfield.

“Having the opportunity to practice asking difficult questions and speaking about sensitive subjects in a safe environment was extremely valuable. It was helpful to reflect on my learning and gave me a confidence boost. I cannot thank the actors enough and would recommend this to other students” - Student Mental Health Nurse

Simulated Patient work at the University of York

My colleagues and I recently consulted with Kate to request actors for a simulation specific to student mental health nurses. In the run up to this simulation we had regular communication with Kate which really helped ensure the day ran smoothly.

The feedback we received from our student nurses afterwards was that the actor’s level of skill made the simulation much more real and believable for them. This helped them to get into the mindset of being a ‘nurse’ much more easily. We wanted our students to develop confidence through this simulation and Out of Character facilitated this through their skilful and realistic portrayals. My colleagues and I were also observing the actors during the simulation, and we were completely blown away by how real this was!

We really appreciated the time to de-brief with Kate and the actors after the simulation so we could get feedback about how they felt the simulation went, their honest and helpful feedback will allow us to make improvements to this simulation in future. All of the actors were incredible and so much fun to work with, we are already looking forward to running this simulation again next year with the help of Out of Character!

Lucy Atkinson, Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, University of York

We are available for more Simulations. If you are interested, just contact us using the information below.

Email us at:

OOCtheatre@gmail.com