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Tom O is our guest blogger this week

So it’s been a busy Yew Tree week for me, full of new starts and progress made in several different projects. I started the week at my regular session, sapphire company, where we are working hard to prepare a version of Dick Whittington and his Cat for the Christmas performances. Sapphire are well known for our comedic performances, and I am positive this year will not disappoint. Even though we are only a few weeks into rehearsal, you can already see excellent performances emerging as people come to grips with both the play overall, and the role they play within it. Sam Winder deserves a special mention for already being off script, and there are several others who aren’t far behind.
We now move on to Wednesday where I found myself at the first meeting of the Halloween at Nostell 2014 cast. Halloween performances will always hold a special place in my heart as it was there I met a lot of the people who would become some of my best friends at Yew Tree, and so I look forward to this time of year a lot. We’re preparing 2 plays in conjunction yet again this year, ‘What a Witch 2’ (an interactive children’s piece aimed at 6-11 year olds) and ‘Ghosts in the Garden’ (a spooky promenade performance through the grounds, aimed at 11-15 year olds) , and even after just the first  read-through’s, both are sounding really good, with very contrasting atmospheres, which is exactly what we are trying to achieve. With the 31st drawing ever closer, frantic line learning and character exploration will have to be done in order to give our audience the best performance we can.
After another Halloween rehearsal on Friday, we move swiftly through to Saturday, where the connections auditions loomed ominously. Connections is one of the youth theatres toughest additional projects, and it shows right from the outset. Choosing the play, then the character within the play that appeals to you, or you can really imagine yourself playing, requires careful consideration both as an individual and as a company. Luckily, the company this year is already a tightly knit unit, and that allows opinions to be voiced openly and freely, meaning already people feel confident in themselves and the group. Every single person who auditioned yesterday did an absolutely sterling job and the casting looks great, a good omen for the months to come.
All in all, Yew Tree is at an extremely hectic time of the year, and so that means, no matter where you are in Wakefield, there’s always some quality youth theatre just around the corner …

  

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