So many highlights in the one week!

-


What a week…it hasn’t been without its challenges but I’m going to concentrate on some of the highlights and there are many of them to choose from…

Due to trips to the National and Yearbook performances this has been my first full week of Yew Tree Youth Theatre and it was great to be able to get into rehearsals for the Christmas shows…all the performances are coming on a treat.  There is still a lot of work to be done but the annual festive magic is starting to happen and I am confident we shall have the usual joyous array of performances to delight our audiences with!

It’s the additional stuff I’d like to concentrate on…starting with An Evening of Enlightenment.  Wednesday found the Writers of YTYT and a selection of performers in very cold Orangery grounds putting together our element of this performance event.  I have to admit it felt like a step too far on what had already been a long, taxing day.  That was until I met Stems!  The pleasure of watching a piece of physical theatre I had directed being performed with live musicians of the calibre and brilliance of this band was such a pleasure…I was hooked.  Mix that with the chance to hear the top class work Gemma and the writers had produced made me wonder where else anyone would want to be.  When we came back on the Friday night for the performance things just got better.  The musicians and their music was still evocative and wonderful, the physical theatre company from YTYT were a credit to us and kicked out a great performance and the writers work was so brave and bold and brilliant!   Add that to fire sculptures and lighting and an audience that received our work generously and you have an unforgettable evening.  However perhaps my favourite bit was when the musicians from Stem said they’d enjoyed working with us and would like to do so again…I’m already creatively plotting for the New Year!

My other featured highlight of the week happened yesterday – 18 YTYT members auditioned for Connections and auditioned very well.  You could tell how inspired they were by the play and the project in the way they overcome their nerves and gave it their best shot.  However the thing that delighted me the most was that they already looked and felt like a company – they were generous of each other, supportive…they wanted everyone to do well…it was a delight to be in the middle of it.  The casting is now done and I look forward to the next connections journey for YTYT with great anticipation.

But don’t just take my word for it read the rich offerings of guest blogs for a more detailed look at the high points of this week!

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