So then...devising...

-
About 6 weeks ago when Danny and I sat down to plan the terms work with Gold Company we decided that the 22nd of May would be about all things site specific - taking advantage of the vast terrain of Thornes Park that we have at our disposal. At that point all we could do was hope that the weather would be ok…imagine my happiness when I woke up to possibly the sun shiniest day of the year. It’s more than lovely when a spark of inspiration gets fed by happy chance and the right kind of environment and turns into something brilliant…but essentially that’s what happened with our plans for today…

Today’s site specific adventures inspired musings on the subject of devising and what makes the process go smoothly and what makes it go less smoothly. At it’s best devising is a lot like the process outlined above…you start with the frame…whether that be words, sounds, sights, memories, anything really…then you’re looking for that spark of creative inspiration and then with a mixture of the right environment and a couple of chance discoveries something magical happens and a piece of theatre is generated to delight and entertain or provoke thinking and reflection or any number of other things really.

This process I’ve just outlined is something we do at youth theatre all the time but I think it’s important that we don’t underestimate the demands it makes on the band of actors involved. Within the process you are asked to be writer, director and actor and everyone has strengths and weaknesses associated with these roles. A useful thing to reflect on is where your strengths and weaknesses are and what you need to do to develop your skills in the weaker areas…an indicator of that is what you feel most/least comfortable doing…

Ultimately I think the most successful group processes are the ones who after discussing a number of options get whole heartedly behind one idea and from that point onwards just concentrate on that…forgetting the other possibilities and pouring all of their talents and skills into realising that one direction…there’s a joy in the unanimous element and a comradery in the creation when this happens…the results of such efforts were in bountiful and memorable supply today…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chloe's Leavers Blog - finally :)

-
  Please excuse how this was written, I do a very silly drama school course, and I haven’t had to write more than my name in 9 months. I’m sat in my silly dorm bed writing me this on my DSA laptop (a win for the mentally ill girlies), realising how utterly bad my ability to Words has become. Anyway.. Leaving YTYT was one of the oddest experiences of my life, and yet, I don’t remember it at all. I’d spent the last few years, waving off some of my closest friends as they went on to conquer their dreams, in a tearful circle, yet all I have is a fuzzy memory and a video saved in an instagram highlight. I’d sell a kidney to try and bring back that experience, to do my final show unclouded by new medication and intrusive thoughts, but as that isn’t possible, I thought I’d finally write my leavers blog, even if it is a year late. I started Yew Tree in 2017, as a way to explore drama outside of the agonising GCSE setting, and across the years, it became a lifeline for me, providing confidence,
Read more

Arwen's Leavers blog

-
I made a start writing this leaver’s blog when I was on a bloody needed holiday over a month ago, on the glorious Isle of Islay in Scotland. I’m re-writing it now, because I think it was naff to be honest. And I’m not in the same mindset as I was then. Also I might have had a few too many drams of whisky whilst writing it there, so there’s that. A line I’ll keep from it however is: “How am I meant to do justice and summarise in my writing the enormity of an impact that Yewtree has had on me these last 5-ish years?” How can I articulate all the skills that I've learnt and developed? The experiences I’ve had? There’s so much, where and what do I start on? So I’ll do just that, and put some of the skills I’ve learnt into use: “You can’t be a creative, a critic, and an editor at the same time” But in fairness - I don’t think I could share and articulate all those things. And I’m not sure that I want to, they’re for me. I can’t put that expectation on myself. The past year I’ve felt as
Read more

Celebrating the past in the present...

-
  Next year Yew Tree Youth Theatre will be 30 years old.   We haven’t quite decided how we will celebrate - any suggestions would be gratefully received. No doubt there will be some nostalgic perambulating down memory lane and some haphazard but joyous celebrating of three decades of creativity we have shared.   Some variation of those two themes would feel fitting. This blog however is something different. This blog is a celebration of the present of those who attended YTYT in the past. Alumni, graduates, previous members – I can never seem to find the right term – but whatever word is chosen I know for sure they are part of the fabric of the youth theatre and I’m grateful to have known all of them, mainly because I have learnt so much from them.   I also can’t put a number on how many people have spent significant time with YTYT over the last 29 years.   I know we started with a group of 8 and now have about 80 members, I know at our peak just before COVID we had about 130 young pe
Read more