What's happening at YTYT

You walk into the rehearsal room, fresh from an earlier youth theatre session, and become aware of all the different dynamics within it.    Each person has brought such a definite energy into the room.   You look at your plan and realise the games and warm up you’d planned aren’t going to cut it tonight.   As you start to revise your plan dramatically you deal with the date clashes of one young person and the queries and questions of a couple more. You look at your plan again and wonder if you’re going to be able to achieve what you hoped to get done on the current project in the current climate.   You chair the traditional best and worst discussion laughing and catching your breath, with this set of committed and vibrant young people, as they share their experiences of the week be they happy, humiliating or heartbreaking.   You run the set of games you have eventually decided upon where each announcement of what is next is greeted by a thi...

And the second is by Georgia from Gold with her debut blog... This weeks Yew Tree was action packed as always.  Best and Worst was fantastic, glad to know the group has such humour. Starting the A to Z of Shakespeare was exciting and useful to see the structure of the new piece. Can't wait for rehearsals to properly start so we can take it to the stage and tell the ballet mums about Shakespearean suspicions, some gruesome deaths and some brutal insults "You straveling, you elfskin, you dried neat's tongue, you bulls pizzle, you stockfish!" Love to see their faces when they hear this!!

Beth M is the first guest blogger... I've had a very very Yew Tree week. I started on monday..my first session volunteering at Sapphire and they were a joy, the play written by Lal is so good and can tell shes worked so hard..moving on to Thursday's Black Company's  session im very much excited about our new project and I think working in smaller groups is different but i enjoy it and the plays are going to be magnif! My new word that I think. Magnif!:) Then onto Saturday morning at Gold oh wow the game of situation wink murder I could of died literally and the read through of A-Z Shakespeare ooooo all too much excitement..and its written so good..STOCKFISH..Saturday afternoon and our last run of Tomorrow I'll be Happy before Crofton and Kendal performances ! I can not tell you how much hard work everyone has put into that play and its been a emotional exciting journey for all of us lets go out with a bang eh and bring on Kendal BTW..im still standing after this week...

Anyone who has already experienced the pleasure of listening to Archean Soundrack will have high expectations for their new single and happily they won’t be in the least bit disappointed.   For those who are happening across them for the first time you are, in fact, in for a treat. Released on the 4 th of May and available through iTunes “For the Last Time,” is a perfect example of how this five piece band manage to reap the best from rock and hip hop, combine it with something truly unique and create a sound that is simply compelling. So what makes this single great?   Firstly there is an unwavering quality in the musicianship throughout every element of the recording that allows you to immerse yourself in the sound.   Secondly it somehow manages to build in all the right places whilst never sinking into predictability but possibly the real joy comes from the disparate aspects of the song that somehow work in absolute harmony.   Rap is ...

This weekend I took a brief sojourn away from Yew Tree to the sunny seaside – and yes against the odds it was actually sunny!   The reason for my trip to Bridlington was that I had been invited to lead a workshop on Character for some of the attendees to the NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) North East conference.   Now whenever I do anything like this there are a certain amount of nerves at play as I am stepping well out of my comfort zone.   As a result lots of things I don’t worry about usually in terms of my work become prime concerns: will they understand what I’m talking about? Will they value it? Will they engage with it?   All these concerns were compounded by the fact that I wasn’t really sure who I’d have in the room. It turned out I had nothing to fear…I ended up with a room ( with a beautiful sea view ) full of about 30 participants and the widest demographic in terms of age and experience of theatre.   From some...

A joint blog from Sam and Brittany...it's a joy Iambic Rhythms Sapphire, this most glorious of days, was rather a delightful experience, but I suppose that was to be expected. It is not often that Sapphire delves into such things as the work of Shakespeare , but then again, trying new things seems to be becoming a trend of late… Everything has become terribly serious. We still have a lark though, as ever. We started with an old favourite, nothing less than a game of Coconuts. And, from that point on, counting became rather an important part of the session. 1 2 3 4 5 6 COCONUTS quickly become 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 as we counted the syllables in various lines from plays and sonnets, soon spotting the pattern. Lots of us already knew to expect this, having studied sonnets and what not at school, but fewer were aware of the pattern of unstressed/stressed syllables within it: Iambic Pentameter . *Cue dramatic music* *Gasp* *Intriguing close up camera an...

There is a sprightly feel to Yew Tree Youth Theatre this weekend…it’s as if we are determined to have a Spring regardless of the strange and chaotic weather.   Everything is new, with a myriad of new projects just launched.   Gold and Crimson began working on their next pieces for a June performance at The Theatre Royal Wakefield.     Entertainingly Gold’s involved exploring Shakespearean insults, among other things, there are some choice examples now plastered over the facebook wall.   Black Company also took the first steps towards their next production a series of scenes inspired by music and its influence on us and our relationships.   It seems like every day this week there has been something new to consider or an opportunity to take.   I have to admit the pace at which everything is happening is enough to make you dizzy but none the less it feels exciting, full of energy and adventure. Incidentally on the theme of all things new, a new ter...

Second guest blogger is Emma, part of our Connections cast and Gold and Black Company Yesterday marked the second rehearsal of Tomorrow I'll Be Happy after our month off! The first rehearsal back was last week and it went swimmingly - and that's partly the reason why yesterday had the potential to be tragic and train-wrecky and less than heartening. Sarah and Danny, trying to revive the play for the Brewery Arts Centre Stage in Kendal, said "Go on... it's ok, live a little... find new things, try something different!" It's always difficult to shake things up when you've found a way of doing something that works. If you've got a way of saying something, or a pattern of speech, or a certain set of gestures that your character uses, it's super difficult to change anything - you get attached and comfortable and reluctant to have a rejig. But before we could protest, the music started and we launched into Tomorrow I'll Be Happy with...

First blog from brand new member Sian, now a welcome part of Gold Company   I have only just started YTYT and have thoroughly enjoyed myself. Starting off with games and warm-ups and then having discussions about the next performance and what we are planning. Despite being nervous and only knowing a few people I was very welcomed and managed to work well. We were put into groups then had to be independent and come up with our own ideas and then perform back to the rest of Gold (most of these had witty remarks and humour) it was good to see everyone having at least one line to say and feedback was given effectively. Overall I will DEFINITELY!!!! Be returning to YTYT and had and amazing session, and I’m sure I’m saying this on behalf of everyone there today.

Yesterday saw us reach another annual landmark in the Yew Tree Youth Theatre calendar, as it was the day we went back into rehearsals with our Connections play to get it ready for Kendal.   I always approach this rehearsal with a significant amount of trepidation and not without good cause; there have been some years when it was a nightmare.   Happily yesterday wasn’t one of them; in fact it was an absolute pleasure.   I was actually bowled over by the standard of work the cast produced yesterday after over a month of not looking at the play, at least not in a rehearsal situation.   Since the rehearsal I’ve been thinking about how the play has managed to stay in such a good state and I’ve decided it’s a lot to do with the hard work that happened early in the year.   The nature of “Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy,” was such that it demanded hard work, by everyone…and it appears the hard work put in has built the firmest of foundations.   This mea...

The youngest member of the NT Connections cast blogs about going back into rehearsal... This week was the first week back in rehearsal for our connections play, "Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy," by Jonathan Harvey. To say we had had no practice for nearly 6 weeks the play was in great condition and some scenes felt like they were nearly perfect.   We started the session by reading the report by the director of National Connections who came to watch one of 4 performances we did in and around Wakefield. The report outlined several points where things could be tweaked or played around with, but these were mainly to do with set and logistics. The review was nothing but complementary about the actors but also gave them small points to improve upon. Then we had one stop start run of the show so the actors could remind them selves of the piece again For those who don’t know, "Tomorrow I’ll be Happy," is a play about a young gay lad named Darren who is killed by several of his pe...