What's happening at YTYT

As I type the last performance of Crimson Company’s musical “Say Something,” has just come down.   Sadly I didn’t get to see the final performances as I was busy with the drama pieces I’d directed for WYTDC’s presentation evening however I did get to see the dress rehearsal yesterday and I’m so pleased I did.    I’m always delighted when I’m surprised by something – now the fact that “Say Something” was beautifully written and well performed wasn’t a surprise – that was an expectation.   The surprise came at the breathtaking sense of truth that came through in the expression of some of the performers both visually and vocally.   I can safely say that when watching the dress rehearsal I had the privilege of witnessing performances that I will never forget and that touched me emotionally.   Crimson Company you knocked my socks off and you should be exceptionally proud of all you have achieved as a company and as individuals.

Our guest blog this week is written by Hollie who was on work experience with us for the week This week has been a week of firsts for me; the first time I have played a game of 'Best and Worst' with some year two children, the first time I have ever been told my nails were scary by a wonderfully outspoken Jade Company member and the first time I have ever spent a full week amidst the chaos of Yew Tree. The week we have just left behind was a week in which I had to undertake work experience and for a while pretend A-Levels don't exist. I've learned YTYT takes your mind elsewhere pretty quickly when you have a large group of Year four students all questioning in unison, "Where's Sarah?" the minute she leaves the room. Working with younger children has never been something I have had a lot of practise with yet after a hectic five days I feel I can say confidently I am possibly capable of working with a mass of 7 year olds... Possibly. But this ca...

I’ve had this metaphor turning over in my head for a while…it’s helped keep me thinking and grounded – most of the time.   So now I’m sat here thinking back over this last week of hard work and there are so many things to be pleased about…so many lovely images…so many pictures in my head of wonderful moments all courtesy of three Yew Tree Youth Theatre Shows…all different but all wonderful in their own way… And so to the metaphor…the pathway to these wonderful Youth Theatre shows is not a simple or easy one – to be honest the last few weeks have felt at times like hard work – like pushing a very large snowball up a very steep hill or in my case three…so much to sort and settle, to prepare and pull together, to create and craft.   That’s not just me – every person involved has to be generous, graft hard, has difficult choices and sacrifices to make.   At points – when the incline takes a sharp shift to a crueller angle – we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t...

Sam wrote about Gold Company's The Sea Two of the things I love most in the world, and I am sure you do too, are Gold Company, and string instruments played with both skill and thought. In bringing these two things together, “The Sea” was fourty five minutes of beautiful physical theatre, accompanied with the subtly powerful music, which told a story in a refreshingly unique way. More contemporary, as I heard it described by a member of the audience, than many of the pieces that we see in our every day YTYT adoration, “The Sea” managed to tell an emotive story with words, actions and sounds in wonderful harmony. The very first words surprised me with the clarity with which they were spoken. Reaching every corner, I have to admit I had a bit of a double take as I checked for hidden amplifiers and microphones before realising that it was a preposterous notion and settling back to enjoy the speeches, an impressed smile upon my face. To really enjoy the piece, ...

Olena blogged about Black's performance of "Flawless" Instead of sitting through the shocking display from England on Thursday you could’ve been out instead watching the fantastic performance from Yew Tree’s very own Black company. Based on Taming of the Shrew, Flawless is a brilliantly written piece looking at the conformities pressed upon teenagers by society with a few hilarious comments added in- ‘I’ll not kill you, this time.’ Everyone in the company put on a wonderful performance that was a thrill to watch and the dynamics of each character were portrayed beautifully. The character of Hattie showed how far some teenagers will go to try to fit in to a group that they clearly would feel uncomfortable in. The development into having the courage to stand up to Niamh (the popular girl; imagine Regina George from Mean Girls) and the whole relationship between them brought out an interesting concept of not only how society treats teens but how teens treat each ...

Bobbie blogged about Sapphire's performance this week... On Monday night I, along with a good strong amount of people, got to see Sapphire's performing Children Excursion Platform No 5. It was certainly, as Emily Bridgett had been saying all evening, ‘A blast from the past. For those who don’t know, little Green company performed the same play over four years ago and so it was really nice to be able to see Sapphire put their own stamp on it after so long. Sapphire are a delight all the time, but they really seemed to step it up a notch and it was wonderful to be able to see that. They were able to have me laughing one moment and then almost in tears the next (yeah, thanks Grace). Each one of them were able to hold their own, despite how young they were and it was just lovely to see how far they’ve each come in the short space since Christmas. I’m super excited to see what Sapphire have to offer next because they’re just going from strength to strength

This week is a busy and exciting week for YTYT – we have three shows all of which, after a week of hard graft in the rehearsal room are now looking good.   On Thursday Flawless will have it’s premier as Black Company perform their contemporary interpretation of Taming of the Shrew…they worked really hard this week as they had a short time to pull the production together and make it work in a brand new space.   They definitely rose to the challenge which means that Thursday should be an excellent evenings entertainment and what’s more you’ll only miss the first half of the England match…it’s at the New Spring Centre in Ossett – it starts at 7.45 (running time 55 minutes) it costs £5 but If you’re a member of YTYT it’s free. On Saturday Gold Company will perform The Sea with Stems – a brilliant band who describe themselves as “ Art rock embellished with strings - epic cinematic compositions full of sweeping elegant darkness and hypnotic delicate intensit...

I love it when a blog wings it way to me unasked for and unexpectedly...Brittany provided that treat for me on Monday...an entire week knowing I had a guest blog in place, especially one as lovely as this made my week that little brighter... Hello there people of Yew Tree, Brittany here, ready and raring to tell you about Sapphire’s latest jaunt in the world of drama.   Now for those who do not know, Sapphire have recently undertaken the task of putting ‘Children’s Excursion’ on its feet, to be performed on the 16 th June to parents, friends, family and the curious.   Now this is to be a workshop play, meaning there are no props, no set pieces and no costumes.   BUT let me tell you, that doesn’t mean there is no fabulousness, because frankly without a bit of fabulous it wouldn’t be a Sapphire play (we are the geniuses behind Rumplestiltskin, we won’t settle for less than amazing).   As I write this I am sitting with a mug of fruit tea and a ca...

This afternoon I had the pleasure of being part (and by part I mean witnessing) Alan Bennett in conversation.   For anyone who doesn’t know who he is (that comment this afternoon got a very middle class laugh but I don’t like to presume) he’s a nationally renowned playwright born and raised in Leeds.   Perhaps best known to this generation of drama enthusiasts for excellent, “The History Boys,” I was first introduced to him at the tender age of 16 when his memorable “Talking Heads” were televised.   The honest, unpretentious voice of the writing spoke to me immediately and I have never forgotten them. It’s always an odd experience getting the chance to hear an icon talk about his work, you’re never sure how it will go or what you might end up taking away.   This afternoon I took away a sense of what it is to be at ease with yourself and what you have achieved.   At 80 years old and having just survived cancer (he was told he only had a 50% c...

Mikey is the guest blogger this week! Hello YTYT This week I was entrusted to represent yew tree on the radio something that scared the day lights outta me. Just the reputation of yew tree on my shoulders. In my head I had imagined all these impatient producers hurrying me along. But once we arrived all the pressure and everything just lifted. The producers were some of the nicest people who just wanted to make us comfortable bringing tea and coffee and giving us the occasional word to keep us calm and relaxed about speaking life on air. Returning to the character of Rowland Winn just reminded me about the fun we all had last year and I imagine this next year is going to be even better especially with the significance of the date we perform. The work I've been doing with rivers of London crew has helped me so much when it comes to site reading and it was easily my biggest fear about being live on air, I was terrified I was going to stumble but my biggest tip to anyone doing ...

The sunshine has returned today after deserting us for the week and with it, it has brought it’s welcome warmth, light, optimism and playfulness a stark contrast to the rain and grey skies that were our landscape for a lot of last week… It occurred to me yesterday that I pretty much have access to sunshine every week…every time I walk into a Youth Theatre session.   Yesterday morning at Gold Company for example even though we were key members of the cast missing, even though we had a lot to achieve for our forthcoming production of “The Sea,” even though some of the cast were broken physically or emotionally (or in some cases both) we still had a wonderful morning.   So much laughter, so much effort, so much progress…the real world left at the door for three hours and a much brighter, happier world in it’s place.   I left the rehearsal feeling restored and re-energised…proud of what we’d done and excited about what was in store next. I’m watching ...

Amy W is our guest blogger this week... First thing first, I should warn you that by reading this blog you will be bombarded with reasons to watch The Sea, as performed by Gold Company of Yew Tree Youth Theatre. It will be great, and I especially assured of this because, due to being injured, I spent yesterdays session watching and operating the music, somewhat badly. But you won’t have to worry about that because there’s going to be live music from the fantastic band STEMs. I enjoyed the opportunity to watch The Sea because it allowed to see the play that I’m going to be part of, which most people don’t get the chance to do before they perform. Of course, it isn’t perfect yet but, looking at where it is now, as long as we keep on working hard, it’s going to be a sight to behold. Let’s start with the beginning and, of course, the prologue. The wave movements looks great and really sets the scene of the ocean for the performance, if the title of “The Sea” wasn’t enough of a clue. I ...