What's happening at YTYT

I have so many memories from Yew Tree - it’s hard to single out a specific one. I’ve been hoping if I waited long enough, one would pop into my brain.  Recently I was working from home, and I put on some background music. Working in silence seems to shorten my attention span, but I get too easily distracted if I know any lyrics.  I popped on an old playlist called ‘Original Scores’. I made it whilst at uni so I could listen to music from films to fuel my concentration through all the chapters of required reading.  Its first two albums are Yann Tiersen’s score Amelie (2001) and Hans Zimmer’s score The Holiday (2006). They’re both there because we used them in Yew Tree productions. Each time I hear the songs we used, it takes me right back to the rehearsal rooms. Song: Comptine d’un autre été, l’aprés-midi  Date: March 2016  Place: Unity Hall, Wakefield This song was used for a companion piece we devised for our Connections production of Eclipse by Simon Armitage....

For almost a decade, I have had the privilege of being a part of a community of people that not only shaped my journey in theatre but also helped me become the person I am today. At the ripe age of 6,   Yew Tree Youth Theatre   quickly became my second home and – as it is in its 30 th   year – I have a reasonable excuse to write about it. 30 years is a remarkable milestone for any organisation, however for many people who start an originally small drama company it seems near impossible. Yet  Yew Tree  made it happen! The legacy of what is now the youth theatre we know and love today has been built upon years, and years, and years of hard work – both from the actors and the behind-the-scenes crew. Reaching three decades of  Yew Tree Youth Theatre ’s existence is insane, and to say I’ve been a part of nearly a third of it?! However,  Yew Tree  isn’t just a drama company: it’s a community, a family, a place where people come together to create. In ea...

I’m certain that of the many Yew Tree histories submitted as part of these anniversary celebrations, mine is a little unusual. I didn’t start young, nor am I from an especially theatrical background (I am, somehow, my own fault), nor did I feel particularly called to the stage. Rather, I was 17 and in need of something constructive to do. Turned out to be quite good fun, so I stuck around for a good 18 months before swanning off to uni. Yet probably the distinguishing feature of my Yew Tree experience is that a few years and one global pandemic later, being at a similarly loose end, I popped back in. I’ve been volunteering with Sarah and the youth theatre now for about twice as long as I ever attended in the first place. This has been in any number of capacities: running warm-up games, assistant directing, occasionally fetching coffee, now by contributing to this zine. And it makes sense to me to predicate my contribution on the unusual perspective I might have, having been on both sid...

Youth theatre has a hugely important part to play in amateur theatre and as NODA North East Youth Co-ordinator and District 13 representative I am doubly blessed to have Yew Tree Youth Theatre (YTYT) as part of the district. In addition to performance skills young people can gain so many benefits from being involved in youth theatre including building confidence, communication skills, creativity, teamwork, and emotional development.  YTYT provides a safe and supportive environment for self-expression, social interaction, and personal growth, which will ultimately boost self-esteem and well-being.  Through watching the YTYT productions I can see how youth theatre helps young people overcome stage fright, develop self-assurance, and believe in their own abilities.  Improving communication skills is achieved through participating in activities and it also enhances verbal and non-verbal communication, including clear articulation, active listening, and effective exp...

I’m not an actor. I’m a university lecturer. My experience demonstrates that being in a theatre group doesn’t mean you have to work in theatre in the future. I’d like to explain how the skills that I developed from being part of YTYT 20 years ago have been transformative and shaped who I am today. Communication  Performance is a form of communication. As a lecturer and leader in higher education, I “perform” regularly as have to speak publicly and articulate my message clearly. One of my strong beliefs as an educator is that it is my job to make my audience understand my point; it’s not the audience’s job to decipher my meaning. I also bring a human approach to my lecturers by being expressive when I speak and actively listening to my students. Before being a lecturer, I taught English abroad for several years which meant that I was often communicating across language barriers. The use of non-verbal and paralinguistic features of communication (body language, gestures, facial expre...

It was either a Thursday or a Friday night, depending on the year. That detail may seem small, but for me, it defined an entire chapter of my life. Fridays were for Gold Company. Thursdays, Black Company. Both were part of Yew Tree Youth Theatre, a place that helped shape the person I became.   I joined at 15, unsure of myself, full of awkward energy and curiosity. At first, it was just something to do after school or work, a creative outlet, a chance to meet new people. But it quickly became more than that. So much more. Yew Tree didn’t just teach me how to act. It taught me how to exist. How to show up. How to be seen.   Gold Company on Friday nights was where it all began. Those early years were full of discovery. We laughed a lot, we stumbled through scenes, we figured out how to speak from our stomachs instead of our throats. It was raw, chaotic, joyful. We were kids, playing at storytelling, but there was so much honesty in it. It was a space where we could try, fail, gr...