What's happening at YTYT

This week was YTYT connections week…you might have heard…or noticed…or come across it…we’ve not been quiet about it… For those of you that don’t know what Connections week is it’s an intense set of 5 days of rehearsals 10 – 4, Monday to Friday where we take a play that’s good and turn it into something truly remarkable…until this week 17 of the cast of 19 didn’t really have a concept of what connections week is as only 2 of my cast this year have been involved before…they certainly do now…this process however isn’t necessarily easy for the actors – it involves an awful lot of…”That was good now try this…” from me…I’m aware that the demands placed on the actors are immense – the script is challenging…the director is demanding…the expectations are exacting…especially when I decide to throw in curve balls like making the cast perform in the round for good measure…but the rewards…once you reap them…well they are quite something… My reward was reaped tonight…I gladl

Daisy and Amy blog about connections week from an actors point of view... Daisy: From the few years I have been at Yew Tree I’ve always wanted to be part of Connections- partly because of the selective personalised hoodie but mostly because it seemed like such a fun and different experience. So, a few weeks before the auditions I made the spontaneous decision to go for it. I can honestly say that that was one of the best decisions I have made. Amy: In Yew Tree, I have been able to push the boundaries of my comfort zone further and further. Now, looking back, I feel like it was worth doing a few activities that made me nervous or worried about my performance because nothing else could prepare me for the huge push into Connections. This is the first year I have been able to do Connections because of my age and I initially felt that it would be too much to throw myself into as many actors taking part were older than me. However, if I hadn't of taken part due to my lack of confidenc

Charlotte blogs about stage managing The Nutcracker Last weekend was the Nutcracker performance as I’m sure everybody knows because its been talked about so much. I've been sat in rehearsals for months doing music and watching it all come together and even though at times its been really stressful it really has been fantastic! I had the really scary job of stage manager, though admittedly probably not as scary as actually being on stage. I had to queue in everything, so that meant telling the lighting and sound and curtain when it needed it start. This was really challenging at first especially because, with it being a dance show, it was blatantly obvious when the music didn't come in for a dance. Luckily that didn't actually happen during the show. It has been really great to see such a huge project through from start to finish. So on friday we got into the theatre for the first time, there was lots of assembling of set to do and cloths to put up. Then the dancers arri

We are about to embark upon an adventure…on Monday at 10am the Connections cast and crew will start the most important week of the project…a full week of rehearsals of The Wardrobe – a full week of exploring the play, a full week of finding out exactly why a their character says what they say at precisely that moment, a full week of exploring the impact of a look, a word, an action.   Our connections play this year is not about a wardrobe as the title suggests but about the children that find solace, escape and refuge within it over 400 years.   In it we tell stories from the Tudor times, the plague and the English Civil war and they are just 3 of the 10 aspects of history that are brought to life in the play…it’s an epic undertaking and one that my cast – many of whom are new to the connections experience - have taken on with passion and excellence.   We did a run of the play yesterday to see where we were at and what became clear is a performance is beginning

Olena's Sapphire Blog...one of the most eloquent guest blogs I've had the privilege of receiving! Seven years ago two students from my class, one boy and one girl, were chosen to sit in on the interviews for the new Year 6 teacher that would be theirs in the following year. Myself and a boy named Maverick were selected. The first interview was long and quite dull (hence the reason why I can’t for the life of me remember the lady’s name) but the second candidate seemed more at ease with himself and the moment he mentioned the possibility of introducing a drama lesson into Monday’s otherwise mundane timetable, I immediately thought he was perfect for the job. He did in fact become my Year 6 teacher, Mr Johnson, and so, Yew Tree came into school on a Monday morning to run several workshops with the Year 6s. It was in one of these sessions that the director, Sarah (whom I thought to be a lovely person), approached Claudia, Rachel, Georgina and I suggesting that we joine

It's a magical feeling when a script that you've written is realised in a way that surpasses your expectation and that's what has happened to me this weekend... So... To every pair of feet from tiny to large that trod the stage...to every chaperone who made sure the performers were cared for and there at the right time in the right costume...to every pair of hands backstage that made sure they had a set to set foot on and were lit at the right time with the right music, to every audience member for their applause and cheers and kind words...to colleagues that are a pleasure to work with...thank you...this weekend was wonderful and it's all because of you... The Nutcracker 

Jess was on work experience this week and this is her blog... Yew Tree helps people. After shadowing Sarah for a week on work experience, I've realised amongst the four thousand six hundred and fifty two things Yew Tree undertakes a week, this is the mantra that drives the work forward and is constantly bubbling under the surface. I have learnt Yew Tree is a company that does more than 'drama'. It develops confidence, consolidates learning, teaches children to have dreams and how to achieve them. It is for some, a path to future careers, and for others is an emotional outlet or a fun time with friends. Yew Tree can be, literally, whatever you want to make it.  As I only knew of the Youth Theatre aspect of YT, I was curious to meet the adults YT worked with, and on Monday morning we met with three writers from Wakefield attending the Telling Tales workshop, where the poems and short stories composed there will eventually be published. Walking in to St George's comm

Sam blogs about...Commedia It was with great anticipation that I turned up to Sapphire Company on Monday. I had the beginnings of an idea about what Commedia was, my clues being that it was Rumplestiltzskin-esque and, courtesy of Wikipedia, “The advent of … improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios.” Which I would consider to be, in a word, intriguing.   For the past few weeks we had been doing improvisation workshops and I think that by expanding this to commedia gave us a little insight to another aspect of such things… So, what could be better to start of a session than standing in a circle and walking across it in the most absurd and ridiculous ways possible. Frankly, there is nothing better. I myself and a fan of bizarre walks, you could ask any number of my friends and they could classify my particular favourite, known in popular culture as The Sam Walk. We explored the effects of different ways of moving, how the more human ones and those that had

And here is Ellen's guest blog... I'm not great at this whole blogging I usually just embarrass myself for example talking about completely off task topics leaving everyone confused. So here goes, I love YewTree all you guys make me laugh and smile I love how we are all like a family through good and bad, through crazy and calm, here for each other all the time no matter what. Like when poor Sian dislocated her knee at gold that was really freaky, Sarah had to ring an ambulance and everything, the most traumatic thing to happen to the big YewTree family. Thankfully Sian is fine she is already walking and it only happened last week. So now we've all been more aware of how fragile our bodies are...well kind off...Tiff cut her foot at gold the week after, so come at your own risk or wrapped in bubble wrap. No the week was good too, I'm now involved in Nutcracker being performed by West Yorkshire Theatre Dance Centre they needed some extras to be the attendants with the Q

When you start on a youth theatre project you have many hopes.   You hope that you have made the right choices when you chose the story, the theme and the way you would communicate it.   You hope that you have the right people on board and that you have cast them in the right roles.   You hope you have the resources, the skill and the energy to see it to the end successfully.   You hope that you can at least live up to people’s expectations (of course what you really hope is that you exceed them.)   My overriding hope however is invariably that the young people involved get something out of it – that they enjoy it but also that in the course of the project they learn something about themselves, their potential and what they can achieve it.   I want them to be able to look back at the end of it and see how far they have travelled. The reason I bring this up is that this week will witness the final chapter of The Nutcracker…as we do our final dress rehearsals and the

Sian blogged about her visit to Gold... This Saturday I took a brief and surprise visit to my company Gold to see how everyone was doing and to give some flowers and chocolates to Sarah, I had the pleasure of staying and watching the four groups preform a piece of physical theatre they had put together and may I say that I was astounded by them. All groups were spectacular using different techniques but Bobbie's group had managed to get their piece to flow with the music which shocked us all and was utterly brilliant(even my mum said so). Many hugs were shared in the 15 minutes I was at Gold and I was a little emotional to be back with my yew tree family and to see everyone enjoying themselves learning new techniques of physical theatre, it was such a lovely visit and fingers crossed I can return to Yew tree next week