A manifesto for the future of Youth Theatre...

-
I am newly returned from a wonderful week at NODA – a summer school at Warwick University for lovers of all things theatre and music.  I’ve been teaching 12 very lovely people as much as I could about Directing Youth Theatre and there isn’t a more fulfilling and exhausting thing to do other than possibly directing youth theatre.  In this blog I’m focusing on the students in my class but it’s worth saying that the entire student body, the organisers and the tutors I am privileged to call my colleagues are some of the most brilliant, generous and positive people you are ever likely to meet.

My students came from very different walks of life with very different values but are united through their love of the arts and their belief in the positive impact it can have on young people.  One of the main things I was impressed with was how open they were to listening to the ideas of others even if they weren’t entirely in line with their own.  By seeing things from a different perspective all sorts of things could be discovered.  Indeed throughout the week of workshops we’ve discussed and debated, played and planned…we’ve striven and struggled, all in the name of trying our hardest to be the best directors of theatre for young people we can.  I finished the week in such admiration of my students who were prepared to step out of their comfort zones and be open to discover new things and envisage a more creative future for themselves and the young people they work with.

The end of the summer school is celebrated by a presentation where students from all the different courses watch each other and share elements of what has taken place over the week.  When my group took to the stage I couldn’t have been prouder as these people – many of whom were so far out of their comfort zone it felt like they were free falling from 10,000 feet – publicly stated, with conviction, their manifesto for their future as directors of young people:

“So in those, halls and theatres a little magic is happening as we are strive to…

Give kids confidence

Help others reach their potential

Enthuse our future

Wow our audience

Nurture a love of theatre

Have fun

Work as a team

Discover possibilities

Take risks and be ambitious

Open minds”

My students are now back in their hometowns that span the length of Great Britain from Dundee to Cornwall I can’t wait to find out what happens as a result of our week together…



Comments

  1. Gordon10 August 2014 at 18:24

    As one of Sarah's students at NODA Summer school I hope you appreciate the accomplished an compassionate treasure you have within your midst in Yew Tree. We have developed from a group of 12 individuals with individual ideas into a cohesive force dedicated to the furtherance of youth theatre.
    Thank you Sarah - nyour class of 2014 salutes you....

    ReplyDelete

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