Making the most of all we have...

-


I want to congratulate all my actors in YTYT for getting this far.  You’ve pretty much learnt your lines, you’ve almost sorted your costumes, you’ve taken and responded to all the notes I’ve bombarded you with.  You’ve also taken the time to come to rehearsals even when you’ve been ill or school/college has been ridiculously demanding or when all the other stuff going on in your life has felt like it’s all too much.  I am fully aware that the expectations on you grow and grow and yet week after week you show up and give me the best you can.  I never take it for granted.

The result of your effort is that our Christmas shows are just about there and so in order that you enjoy them to the fullest extent I wanted to remind you of something.  Your rehearsal room and your stage is a place to let all of your worldly responsibilities go…you can put them down for a while and let your world become smaller.  Then at the end when you pick them up again you are reenergized and stronger.  Sadly I’ve become increasingly aware recently that at the start of rehearsals I am faced with a group of young people, a large proportion of whom are so weighted down and a in truth somewhat defeated – it takes the first 30 minutes to remind you that you are ok and that you are in a place you like to be…one by one the lights within you switch on and eventually all of you with your brilliance and fun fully appear…I just wish we didn’t waste the first 30 minutes – our time is short together and I want us to make the most of it…


My Christmas time wish is this – for the rest of this term remember you are in a place where you are valued and treasured as you walk in the room, a place where you do brilliant things and become the best you can be so you can enjoy every moment of it…yes you have to work and think and create and reflect – but what better way to spend your time…in three weeks it will all be over for 2015 – let’s make the most of all we have…

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