What's happening at YTYT

We have a finale - the Hunt blog to end all Hunt blogs thanks  to Jeevan! Let’s rewind to the 11 th   of September 2021.   Sarah uploaded the different scripts all part of this year’s Connections festival expecting us to read them, but frankly, they were all pretty long so to make my preferences, I relied purely on the short and simple synopses she’d posted a little while beforehand (a perfect example of ‘work smart, not hard’ if you ask me). If it were up to me, I would’ve had Hunt down as all three of my play choices, but sadly, that’s not how the scoring works. Knowing nothing about either other play, I complied with Sarah’s instructions and put down Variations and Like There’s No Tomorrow as my 2 nd  and 3 rd  choices, simply because one’s synopsis mentioned String Theory (finally giving me the chance to share what I’d learned from The Big Bang Theory while I wear nerdy T-Shirts) and the other preached an important message on climate change.    Okay, now skip 19 average days, and w

 A look at the process of making Hunt from Lucy's perspective  As I’m writing this blog, I’m trying my hardest not to get emotional so if anything I write doesn’t make sense then you know why. I feel that this blog might be slightly different to all the others seeing as this is probably going to be my last Connections blog, so why not make it the best, right? Connections was a bit more normal this year compared to last year where the majority of the rehearsals were online. This year, everyone was literally back in the room. I think we can all agree that Hunt was definitely one of the best plays out of the ten that were up for grabs and that we all celebrated quite a lot once we got into it. The reason I fell in love with it is because, compared to some of the past plays we have done, I felt that this one had the best story, the best mixture of relatable characters and the best writing. Yes, it didn’t have the craziness of Chaos, the stamina needed for Look Up or the slightly confus

  Sam blogs about hunt from a slightly different perspective This was my second connections, my first being in the middle of lockdown. Sarah asked if anyone would be interested in helping her in operating the sound; I thought it could be fun, help expose me to something different and be a graceful introduction to the start of my film studies course at university. I loved every moment.    When connections came round again, I jumped on the opportunity to operate sound once more. The soundtrack for Hunt came with its tricky changes and timings that would frustrate me when it wasn’t quite right. But when it worked, when the thunder complimented the dialogue or the track added to the tension of the scene, I felt overjoyed, like my role in the performance had a purpose.    Being able to work and perform at the Crucible in Sheffield brought on new challenges. Adapting to their equipment and software was different and difficult at first but after being shown the ropes it was really fun to use.

It’s been a while since I wrote a blog but I felt inspired by the events of the last few weeks and so here I go…   I often (around about two weeks before the home performance) question my motivation for directing Connections.  This year was my 18 th ! I’ve been directing them since 2004, that in itself, is a frightening thought!  It requires such investment of time and energy from me and the whole company…it isn’t cheap to do and we never break even with ticket sales so it takes up a significant amount of YTYT funds…it’s a labour of love that I do on an entirely voluntary basis – so the questions must be asked - why do it?   Well, firstly it’s a privilege to be able to stage new work by established playwrights, commissioned by the National Theatre, that is specifically written for young people to perform to audiences of young people.  The majority of the plays speak to now, speak to the concerns and lives of young people and provide a way of young companies of creatives to address them

  Connor’s Connections Blog: 5 Connections Later, Still Learning     Here we are again, Connor’s writing another blog. Grab yourself a cuppa or something ‘cause this could take a while.    Connections has consistently been my favourite part of YT for nearly five years now. It provides me with unique challenges every time whether that’s getting to grips with a character I don’t understand in Ceasefire Babies, wanting to quit during CHAOS, building up the stamina to perform on stage for an hour in Look Up and creating theatre during covid times with Witches Can’t Be Burnt, Connections is like nothing else YT offers. This time with Hunt, the challenge was getting over the fact that I’m reaching the end of what has been one of the best chapters in my life so far. I’m getting disgustingly close to 20 now and even if I wasn’t going away this summer it would still be my final Connections.    Let it be known, I was disappointed when I discovered we were going to be doing Hunt. This is because