"Tomorrow We'll Be Happy"

-

Next week is a big event in the Yew Tree Youth Theatre calendar it is our NT Connections week and up until yesterday I have to admit to being a little concerned.  We’ve taken on such a challenge with, “Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy,” it’s possibly the most demanding play we’ve done and I was beginning to think that maybe in the time allowed we weren’t going to pull it off to quite the standard set by past productions.  It wasn’t that people weren’t putting in the effort it was simply that the effort needed was something greater than something like this had ever demanded before…so I admit, a couple of weeks ago I was thinking that maybe there would be a gap between expectations and results for Connections this year.

Not anymore though.  Since yesterday everything has slotted back into it’s rightful place and I am a very happy director.  It was a tough rehearsal as we dissected the most challenging moments in the play.  Due to the nature of the story of the play these moments are both emotionally and technically challenging all at the same time.  So Danny and I pushed actors into thinking about things that they probably never wanted to think about and we repeated things over and over and over and we asked questions and painted scenario’s and we tried to walk, run, fight and die in the shoes of somebody else…until finally at the end of the rehearsal we celebrated.  We celebrated the fact that a hard task had been well done and looked forward to a whole week of consolidating our progress and building on the discoveries we’d made that day.

I have no concerns about “Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy” any more, not one.  There will be no gap between expectations and results.  The demands of the play will certainly be met and the audience are in for an hour of gripping drama performed by an immensely talented cast of actors who I believe have learnt a lot about the world and themselves by realising this play. 

If you haven’t reserved your tickets already you absolutely should…look forward to seeing you there.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 w...
Read more

Yew Tree Youth Theatre. 2024 - Fred

-
What a year (That's a good thing, by the way). My favourite shows, my favourite rehearsals, my favourite year; so you can hopefully gather that I've enjoyed it all.  But in all reality, my blog should start in 2023, as National Theatre Connections began then.  I had been cast, along with Izzy, in the role of Noush, which quickly I became attached to. As the rehearsal process continued into the year of 2024, I only grew to like the role even more. Kiss/Marry/PushOffCliff - as the play was called - soon shaped up to be a fantastic show. The year before (I know, this is meant to be 2024, but everything, after all, is interconnected) I'd shown interest in NT Connections but had shied away, thinking I was not capable enough for such a task. This time, however, I was prepared - or brave, or optimistic, or however you could describe it - and chose to take part. It was indeed the right decision. Never before from a show had I received such enjoyment, even from rehearsals. Every tim...
Read more

Robin's Connections Blog

-
 Kiss / Marry / Push off a cliff was my second connections play that I have done with YTYT. As soon as I read it, I fell in love with the script. Although it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, it drew me in with its pure weirdness and mystery. I was so intrigued as to how we would tackle many of the problems that were initially presented to us. After all, showing someone getting pushed off a cliff while inside of a sleeping bag in a youth theatre production isn’t a simple task. However, with the combined effort of an equally talented crew and cast, I believe we were able to do a pretty good job. I could ramble all day about how much I love characters as a whole. In truth, they are what drew me to connections in the first place. I love being able to delve into their motivations and fears in detail and develop a whole other being rather than myself. I remember there was one character that stood out to me in my first reading. I knew from the start that Marco would be a tricky character. B...
Read more