Three 2020 blogs!!

 Our first is from Layla

This year may have not been the greatest, but so much has still happened that have made this year a good one. At the start of the year, we came off an amazing Christmas show and I was looking forward for something new. Also, Look up was one of the best experiences of 2020 and I loved every second of it as Crystal and watching the other cast smashing it. And then Covid 19 hit and everything changed. But Yewtree helped by doing online sessions and keeping everyone in high spirits and happy. After Lockdown, Yewtree came back and we started on Princess and the Frog, even though it was hard to come back after so much time off, it was amazing to be back in the room and be with my friends again after so long. Connections started, got a part I love and and it felt like things were starting to be normal again. The Christmas shows may not have been the way we know them but they were still amazing and I loved every single one. It was so nice to see how hard all the companies had worked to make these Christmas shows be amazing and put a smile on everyones face. 2020 may not have been the best year, Yewtree has made this year more bearable and keep my spirits up.

The next is by Olli

I joined YTYT’s Black Company back in September, after being introduced to Yew Tree through being a member of the Wakefield LitFest programme board. I was quite apprehensive- it had been three years since I’d done anything close to acting, and 2020 has been an absurd landscape for drama in general. However, the minute I walked into the studio for my first session, I felt welcomed. Despite the fact that I was surrounded by actors who had much more experience and talent than I did, I never felt like the odd one out. At times I felt intimidated, but Yew Tree has such a non-judgemental atmosphere that I was never afraid to just sink my teeth in and get on with it. I knew a few members of Black Company before my first session, but I feel that Yew Tree has allowed us to grow even closer, and I’ve definitely made new friends as well, which is always a bonus.

 

Creating, devising, and performing ‘Welcome to Neverland’ was such an amazing experience. Covid-19 restrictions meant that at times it wasn’t easy, with large chunks of the cast isolating, or when we had to rehearse over Zoom throughout November, but with Sarah’s excellent guidance, support, and leadership, we were able to produce a piece of drama that I feel all the cast were proud of. The feeling created in the final moments of that show is quite indescribable, but it’s a poignant reminder of just how important drama and theatre are to us all. 

 

Because I apparently like to fill every single spare second of my calendar, and as my confidence has grown dramatically over my time at Yew Tree, I also signed up to be part of the 2021 Connections cast. I’m really excited to be able to develop my acting and performance skills, and work with members of the cast from other companies. I’ll be honest, Witches Can’t Be Burned wasn’t my first choice in play, but as I see it in front of me at rehearsals, I’m really looking forward to the finished product- it’s going to be great!

 

As 2020 draws to a close, I want to say a massive thank you to Sarah, who continually gives her all to each endeavour she has (and she has many)- I don’t know where my 2020 would have gone without you. I’d also like to say thank you to Chloe and Lily, who consistently remind me of things I’ve forgotten, give me support and encouragement, and just generally keep me a little bit saner than I would be without them. And a final thank you to all my fellow cast and company members- you’re all incredible, and I can’t wait to see what 2021 has in store for us- it can’t be any worse than this year.

And our finale is by Chloe

2020. Needs no further introduction really. 

It’s been a, simultaneously overwhelming and deeply underwhelming year, for everyone. It’s been a year of supporting our key workers, uplifting minority voices and clocking our own privileges, and a year of realising how key the arts are to our everyday lives; how we reach to Netflix and Spotify and books and poems in times of need; and how the absence of theatre really marked the collective mood of artists. But to say that 2020 lacked theatre and the spirit of a creative community would also be a lie. The National Theatre streamed shows weekly, and the joy of Yew Tree was kept alive through the efforts of Sarah.

My 2020 (I don’t think clarifying pre-March is even needed for this bit), started oh-so-well in terms of drama and Yew Tree. During January, we workshopped ‘Brexit; the Musical’, which resulted in lots of giggles and silliness (it was so fun to be utterly ridiculous during the bleakness of winter (bold assumption we knew about bleakness back then!!)). We also started the rehearsal process for Blue Stockings in Black Company, where I was playing the role of Celia. As someone who is incredibly politically charged, this play was utterly magical to work with, and it was shaping up to be a rather brilliant piece of theatre, about the female fight for the right to graduate from university. During the early stages of the year, I was experience huge amounts of burn-out, from having an appalling work-life balance, and Black Company was the most joyous place to switch off and delve into drama; this small release is something I am so grateful for.

I’d be being completely foolish if I failed to mention Look Up. I played the role of Jack in Cast Chloe (named after this wordsmith right here), and I cannot even begin to explain how lucky I felt having been trusted with the role. It was one of my first big roles at Yew Tree, and having such a sense of leadership, both from the character and as an older member of the cast, was so cool. The play was dystopian yet wasn’t too far from the world that we all knew. The building of the world of the play was really interesting, and during connections week, it was interesting to explore the mental makeup of the characters, such as how they would react to the absence of physical touch (aged like milk HAHAH), and what their hopes/dreams were. Look Up was a revolutionary moment for me as an actor, as I felt believed in, I had some evidence that I can act, and that I’m not a complete failure; it was a very validating and enlightening performance journey. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t do a little cry when I found out we weren’t able to take our play to York, but on further reflection, I’m glad that in the absence of having to chose a Jack for the show, myself and Connor get to maintain a friendship. I also got to do some very fun stage combat for the fight scene with Maddie which taught me that my kneecaps are slightly stronger than they look; and sometimes all we need to do in life is just MAKE SOME SHOUTY AND SCREAMY NOISE. 

Isolation. Quarantine. 5 months of Zoom calls, distanced learning, nature walks and lots and lots and lots of drag race. One thing that kept me sane during a time period that involved me cutting a fringe and gaining 15 houseplants was a regular YTYT call, where we’d discuss our best and worst of the week, and just say hello. Some weeks there were 15, and others, there were 5, but either way, it was lovely to connect with faces that I hadn’t seen in far too long. During this time, I also got involved with LitFest, which was something that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do without Sarah, and it was such a fulfilling experience, working with other young people to help organise a Literature festival. 

Our Christmas shows this year were a little different, as they were streamed virtually from the Cluntergate Centre. Black Company wrote a production based around the values and ideas of Neverland, and it was magical and pretty and thought-provoking and everything a mature company needed to say at the end of 2020; we also got to run around and be utterly foolish which is always VERY lovely indeed. 

In review, 2020 was awful. Foul. Rather icky. But it was also incredible, as it showed the strength of the creative spirit, the longevity of young people and it revealed all of the hard work that the fabulous Sarah and Oz to, in order to add a little bit of magic to the lives of young people in the Wakefield district. I’m entering 2021 with the role of Anuka in ‘Witches Can’t be Burned’ clutched into my tiny, elf-like hands, and a hopeful spirit in my heart, that no matter how 2021 turns out, the sparkle of Yew Tree will always be present, in some form or another. 

Thank you to everyone for making this year the best it could be