What's happening at YTYT

A late edition from Tafline...posting from afar...temporary member of the Black Company...now back down south but hopefully she'll visit again soon... So you know when you were younger, and you were asked to explain something as if you were explaining it to an alien? I suppose I am currently Yew Tree’s adoptive alien, and I thought you might all enjoy the reverse. That is, my two pennies on all things Yew Tree as seen from outer space. Well, the south. I think I sort of got to have my cake and eat it too. Not only did I get to be involved in the tour of Say The Words (a play and workshop dealing with teenage pregnancy) in Wakefield schools, I muscled my way into the youth theatre as well. By gum, how utterly magical. The tour was intense in so many good ways. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more invested in something so practically. It’s all well and good to get on one’s soapbox and berate passers-by with one's cures for the world’s ills, especially for something as controversia

Rachel has kindly volunteered to be our Christmas guest blogger...so here it is... Well this is my first go at ‘blogging’ so here goes! Well I haven’t been involved in many Yew Tree performances yet but I’ve still had a ball with them and since it’s Christmas I thought I’d talk about the xmas show. What a great way to get in to the Christmas spirit! As I was not in the Yew Tree version of ‘A Christmas Carol’, I have to say it what a pleasure it was to watch and what a fantastic and fresh version of the script it was too! I cannot actually believe I began feeling emotional in parts… definitely was not expecting that- (certainly shows that Yew Tree can do soppy as well as hilariously funny!) And well, I guess I can’t mention A Christmas Carol without ‘Musicians’. Need I say anymore?! Such a different type of Christmassy play but still such an amazing production to get you feeling all wintery! Being the first of my theatre productions with Yew Tree, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the

To finish off the blogs of 2009 I thought I would (gloat) celebrate about what we’ve done particularly well this year…so here goes… 1. We’re still here… Pretty obvious you might say but actually it’s been much trickier than you might imagine…the youth theatre has no money of its own and at the moment no funding…it relies on the generosity of its sister company Yew Tree Arts Ltd to subsidise the money you pay each week in order to keep going. This hasn’t been a major issue in the past but when the recession hit it’s been harder to sustain everything and anything…especially when the rent we pay to venues keeps increasing…so the fact that we’ve made it through deserves a Robert Girgis style round of applause… 2. We still know what we stand for… As organisations get bigger and more well known quite often they can lose sight of why they began in the first place…we still have at our centre the desire to create a space that is safe and inclusive, a place to play and to be creative; equally

Lucy Tranter...Member of the Crimson Company and now cast member in Sparkleshark...with her excellent debut blog... So, Sarah asked me if I could write this weeks blog. She said I could write about either our last Yew Tree session or the Sparkleshark auditions, and since I had a bit to say about both, I thought I’d write about both. Here goes... Last Saturday was our last session until after Christmas, so, as you can expect, we had some laughs. We each said our news, played some games (I’m sad to say I can’t actually remember what games we played. But hey, I’ve slept since then) and then Gemma said that in groups we were going to act out the nativity. We could either do an updated version, or do it like we were seven years old. Naturally our group did like we were seven. We decided Catherine should be the teacher and we would be the (surprisingly slack) group of kids. Each of us got our parts, basically improvised the whole thing then kept doing it until we had something worth performi

We had such a nice time in the Sapphire Company this week…I love the sessions after a performance, they should be all about celebration of the brilliant results of a terms hard work and it turns out Sapphire company know how to celebrate in style. There were cards, there were chocolates, there were many words of congratulations and loads of lovely feedback from parents, friends and family… and equally from the actors themselves about how it felt to perform at the Phoenix Theatre. For the creative task of the week we made adverts…retrospectively…for the show that had happened the week before. It took me ‘til the end of the last one to realise the significance of what they’d made. Each one was a brilliant demonstration of how far the skills of the company have developed. The challenging process of putting on a production hadn’t just resulted in a great performance but had also created a stronger company with individuals that are now significantly stronger actors…not bad for a terms w

Joanna became the guest blogger by losing the laughing game... brutal way of rounding up a assistance sure but a necessary brutality...anyway the result is a cheerful/cheesy (her words not mine) look at the week... So, the festive season is upon us and in the spirit of Christmas I’ve decided to write a blog, because Christmas isn’t just about opening presents, it’s about opening our hearts… I’m wondering whether I dare start my blog off with such cheese. Yeeeees. I wish it was possible to end a blog with jazz hands. Anyway it’s been a brilliant week of Yew Tree sessions. I always buzz off end of term games sessions. Firstly Saturday morning where we played Wink Murder, a Situation set in Santa’s Grotto. Whenever we play wink murder I always get so involved in playing that I forget there’s a murderer about so when people start dying it’s mildly annoying because I’ve been enjoying pottering about as my character until then so when it was proposed that at some point next term we could pos

No introductions necessary...he does it himself... Hmm, a Blog, wow, this is a first for me. Ok then, You all know me as Matt, strangely enough, but for the last few months I’ve been answering to “Beast”, (that and “Beastie Boy”) as, well, I WAS the Beast (I’m just that awesome) in Sapphire's production of Beauty and The Beast (That’s me, just in case you’re confused). Playing the Beast, it was good fun. I must say, it is one of my personal favourites of all the Roles I’ve ever played (even more fun than being “Zip”, but lets just not go there please), and it really helped me just, chill, a whole lot (yes, shouting helps me relax). That for one was great, as I could channel a lot of emotion into character, as while I was learning my lines and developing the Beast character, I was going through a rough time in my life, and I channelled all of that, well, negativity, into the character as darkness and aggression, with some ambiguity thrown in for good measure. I did personally find b

In the space of a week we have put on seven different plays in 4 different locations…a lot of which were premieres and some of which we performed twice. We have made audiences laugh (and cry)…we have kept them engaged; we have challenged their perceptions of what theatre is and more importantly what youth theatre can be. We have strived for the highest standard of professionalism. Individuals have stepped out of their comfort zones and exceeded the expectations of their cast members, their director, their family and friends and most significantly themselves. We have witnessed or created moments, minutes and in some cases whole scenes of pure theatrical delight. We have triumphed over technical adversity and overcome insecurity and self doubt. We have in fact had a marvellous week and should rightly feel more than proud of ourselves. Go Team Yew Tree. My request to you then is this…value it…the week and all it contained…don’t move on too quick, treasure the moments…the big ones o

Mr Jonathan Hopwood everybody... Bloggity bloggity bloggity blog. I’m finding it hard to see the screen due to the amount of spray after Yew Tree Youth Theatre's technical rehearsal on Sunday. Sundaaaay, the daaaay of rest, definitely rest on sunnnnday... if there was one day to kick back and relax, pop the kettle on and microwave your heat’em up slippers to ensure warmth this winter season... it would be a Sunday. H’oh no! Not Yew Tree. Everyone had hands on deck to try and make the day run as smoothly as possible. Techs are notoriously difficult. I put this down to having 50+ actors, who’s foundation essentials consists of oxygen, food, water and attention, coming second to the lighting and sound of the performance. However, what is sooooo brilliant about Yew Tree is that we break free from the norm and always manage to take it to the next level. The lovely thing about Yew Tree is that people use spare time to it’s full potential. Journeys are plotted over and over to ensure that

Saturday: 8.15 Get up and get ready…slightly berate myself for not getting up earlier and for making the same mistake every week. Leave the house ensuring Jonny will bring CD player and I have everything I need for today’s rehearsals… 9.15 Travel to Thornes Park with Alice and Ash…pausing only to check with Cheryl we can have the rehearsal room for the afternoon…usual stop for coffee and food 9.30 As people arrive I catch up with them about their day, their week, their costume issues…psych myself up to deal with security guard who needs a piece of paper signing 10.00 most people now in attendance go and deal with confused security guard who tries to explain new system of signing in whilst looking for the piece of paper he’s lost…not sure he understands new system…eventually sign paper and thankfully move on to… 10.05 Best and Worst…this week terrifyingly including politics and religion…always slightly risky territory…still the mixture of optimism and sad moments gives me a gauge as to

All the shows to be performed in the Christmas Spectacular are in their final stages of rehearsal and I find myself in a state of perpetual frustration. So much of what we’re doing is almost brilliant…almost…so very close…so very, very close but ultimately, and sadly, it isn’t brilliant…yet… “So what is needed to make it perfect Sarah?” I hear you all enquire enthusiastically…well I’ll tell you… It’s employing all the things that we keep talking about in rehearsals and in notes… it’s making sure you know where and why and what and who at every moment…about knowing where you have come from and where you’re going…it’s about having a sense of the whole story and not just your part in it…and then in terms of your part its about knowing it inside out, back to front, from every angle and then making it look as if you’re discovering everything for the first time as if you’re living every moment…really living it… It’s about discipline and bravery, well directed energy…about being strong as a

Nathan Trout was the kind person that offered to do the blog this week and this time he didn't have to text it... It's been five months now since I last offered to be guest blogger and now with Christmas looming ever closer the production looks more like an actual play than it did then, it actually has a script now for one thing. The thing about a project like this has been the challenge of taking a classic like Dickens's A Christmas Carol and making it your own without ruining it, which I think we've managed to do in a number of ways including setting it in a timeless/modern setting rather than Victorian London and changing the characterisation of the ghosts. It's also been great fun and for me, whose not done a full Yew Tree production before, to start with devising scenes, to getting a script and casting to reading through to setting and re-setting scenes to running through the whole thing and finding ways to include all the newcomers. The point we're now

Alice with an extra features blog inspired by Say the Words Yew Tree's current Theatre in Education tour... On Friday I went to watch the final day of rehearsals for, “Say the Words.” A TIE piece on teenage pregnancy that Yew Tree have toured twice before. It was belting. I think the amount I enjoyed watching was a bit weird though. HA! It’s very rare I get to watch a piece of theatre again and again and I noticed lots of things. The issue is, I get asked to write a blog and I’m like, “Yeh!” Then I realise I don’t have a point and that I just noticed a lot…so I’m just hoping if I write what I saw then I’ll find a little conclusion, wish me luck. So, they were doing a “Stamina test,” and performed five times today which wouldn’t have been as impressive if they weren’t all so brilliant. Having been part of a TIE tour of a very different nature last year in college it was interesting to see a way of performing such a sensitive subject only exploring the aftermath. This obviously req

Josh Farrar ladies and gentlemen from the Crimson Company making his accomplished debut as a guest blogger... Last week my group (Crimson Company) moved to a new facility after being at the church for over two years. I was sad to be leaving such a large spacious building in which we have rehearsed and performed in for a long time, but i was also happy to be moving on, as the change was for the better. When I first entered our new space (The Orangery) I though it was quite small for a group our size, but it probably will take time to settle in after being in such a large space for so long. In the first week of us having a new area we told our news and played a few games as usual. But afterwards Gemma decided to split us off into groups and devise a small murder mystery piece. We all had loads of fun creating the small performances, and the end product of each groups were amazing. This week however we were split into groups again but we were asked to do a spoof of A Christmas Carol, whic

I’m sat here looking at a blank word document (somehow blank piece of paper has a much more romantic feel) with literally no idea what to write… There is too much…even if I was just thinking about today there would be much too much to write… Gold Christmas Carol rehearsals, a visit to Crimson’s new home at the Orangery and an afternoon with the Black Company working on The Musicians…all in the space of the one day… add to that Sapphire Company’s Beauty and the Beast rehearsal and a performance of Conversations and you see why it’s all just a bit much… as in to pick one thing…so erm… This isn’t good…the word document has been started but as yet no real point has been made…. Erm… Aha…I know… Having just sat here reflecting on the week for a good 5 minutes to see what stands out I’ve realised that a lot of the things that create the most vibrant memories are when actors have been entirely committed, in terms of the moment, the character, the process of making, creating, adapting and impro

Roberto Girgito delivering a blog for you fine people today. I had the pleasure of visiting the Sapphire Company that is run on a Monday night by Sarah, Danny and Callum. They are doing Beauty and the Beast which is very much in full swing. I got to do something that I haven’t really been able to do at a Youth Theatre session and that’s sit back and watch. I got to watch as young people were challenged; scenes were devised and revelations were made. The sheer amount of thoughts that were spawned from just 2 hours of Youth Theatre was incredible. The one image that has stuck with me was three girls who were all acting alongside each other. They did their scenes as asked of them, word perfect, matching blacks and very focused. The scene ended and everyone was given a minute to go over there lines and walk through their scenes. The scene they did was brilliant, performable and to a somewhat high standard. However Sarah called the three girls over and sat them down - ‘Here’s the next step’

So two rehearsals in the one day today for three different plays…not bad for a days work. Now being the artistic director of Yew Tree Youth Theatre has to be one of the most fulfilling jobs in the world but today seemed a particularly fulfilling one… The reason…and yes I do have a reason… is because today I have particularly enjoyed creating “moments” with my casts… It’s one of the most challenging and fascinating aspects of the craft of creating plays when you look at how a fraction of hesitation, a slightly different inflection in the voice, a minor alteration in the physicality or even more intriguing a change in an actors thought or intention can create something so significant on stage the memory of it will engage audiences in their present experience and stay with them in their future memories. So what moments did we create today…they are actually countless…the welcoming of the Cratchit family by Fred’s family and friends, the arrival of Marley…of The Ghost of Christmas Past, th

Hurray for Hannah...member of the Gold company...writing her first blog on the same day she signed up to audition for Sparkleshark...more than proud... This is my first ever Yew Tree blog, which is pretty bad really, considering I’ve been here for nearly 7 years ... not that I’ve got 7 years worth of stuff to talk about. This Saturday saw the continuation of rehearsals for A Christmas Carol. But it was especially special this week as there was the long anticipated arrival of Tiny Tim (woo!) in the form of Chris. After that cause for excitement we all got ready to do some hard work on the first half of the play. Even though it was amazing to start with, it was even more amazing by the end of the session. The set was on and off on time and everyone knew exactly where they were meant to be. Plus people were getting really confident with their roles, not using scripts and really getting into the characters. Also, the new people, who have only been at Yew Tree a few weeks/months are all AMA

This week in my blog at www.sarah-osborne.co.uk I was championing the values of journeys…of making sure a process is as cherished as its product…of the gifts available to us when we engage in a purposeful and authentic approach to developing the way we operate. It occurred to me today as I talked to a couple of the actors in A Christmas Carol that one of the things that has got harder for me as artistic director is signposting you, my youth theatre members, on the next stage of your own personal development. The reason is simple…there are so many of you in each group. When we younger – and smaller - it was so easy to work my way round the individuals in a group or cast with a word or two about their next challenge as in what they needed to develop to make the next step towards successful characterisation or the skills needed for a better performance. Now it often takes all my time and headspace making sure everyone is engaged and particularly at the moment that the productions are

Alice Proctor...veteran Yew Tree member of Gold and Black company... So on Monday I got roped into going to the Monday night group – well Sapphire, and it was cracking. Also I make it sound like a chore but it was mint to be back. There were loads of new faces and I tried to learn some names and panicked in cowboys and Indians but I coped haha. Also I felt really old especially when we were playing the bean game and Danny shouted ‘baked beans’ and we had to run into the middle of the room – there were tiny people close to being crushed. Aside from that Yew Tree is a wonderful and safe place honestly. Anywayyy, apart from the new faces, there were people who went when I was Cinderellering it up. I make it sound like it was years ago ha. Like some girls were wearing make-up that didn’t used to and there were some people who were stupidly tall and people whose hair was mentally long haha and people who I could hear in best and worst that used be really quiet. I sound like a proud Grandma.

This week at Yew Tree I had to compromise…specifically in my one rehearsal of the week… namely the first rehearsal of The Musicians with The Black Company …and compromise is not something I associate with the Black company…which, actually, is a good indication of how spoilt I am and in what high esteem I hold them... But compromise was what I was prepared for at the start of the day as I tried to get myself in a place where I could cope with it…I had key cast members absent and couldn’t get in the rehearsal space at the time I wanted to…I was starting rehearsals for a challenging play and our rehearsal time is severely limited…oh yes…compromise, at the start of that day was going on in abundance… Turned out it didn’t matter because I had a brilliant rehearsal…yes the whole process is always potentially jeopardised by individual cast member’s agendas that are consistently almost in play… but it doesn’t and didn’t matter because ultimately the rehearsal made me laugh and gasp and marvel

Aaron is back with undoubtedly his best blog to date....take heed everybody... Ok so here is my FOURTH blog entry now, I don't see why people are so reluctant to write a blog, I suppose this edition of Aaron blogs is more of a plea for more people to do blogs every now and again, although I am aware that Sarah does not need the help to motivate people into doing something good. I suppose the reason I am so willing to write these blogs is because I know the type of people who comes to Yew Tree and reads these blogs. I write these knowing that people will take the time to read them like I do when others write them. I write them because I feel comfortable with the people at Yew Tree that I would take a risk in writing these and for me it is a big risk because I get really self conscious when it comes to showing something I have taken time in making. Last rehearsal we had for Christmas carol something brilliant happened for me. we were running through the final scene were I have to cha

The lovely Jess Hopwood...member of the Black Company and honoured visitor to Gold Company today... If you didn’t know, Sarah posted on the forum about a new idea: people visiting the sessions they don’t usually go to and writing blogs about them. I shot-gunned Saturday morning because I’ve only ever heard good things about it, and I’ve never been able to go to these sessions because it was at the same time at my dancing; turns out i’m giving dancing a break for a few months, so what better way to spend a Saturday morning hey? :) Soo, I’m sitting in the circle as people are arriving and it occurs to me just how many people are in the group...it’s huge! I already knew the majority of people from the 17+ group, but it was also nice to see a few familiar faces from Monday night group...and then there were the completely new faces to me, who were refreshing to watch. To get straight to the point, A Christmas Carol is brilliant. I proper enjoyed just being an audience member and the amount

Best and Worst* despite it’s almost constitution-like place in Yew Tree often feels a little like Russian roulette… in that I’m never sure what kind of controversy, heartbreak, ridiculousness or inappropriateness I’m going to hear next… However…I’ll let you into a little secret…although at times I deeply resent the rehearsal time it can take up and despite my occasional hard line approach in terms of late comers not being able to participate…best and worst is an incredibly precious part of my week… What would life be without Stacy’s music or food check in? A reminder that it’s the little things that can make life feel worth while… or Matt’s eternal optimism, he rarely ever has a worst…then there’s the flicking of Dee’s scarf or hand or…anything really… that can become more than a little dangerous for whoever is sat next to her…there’s the uncertainty of whether Chelsie will be able to string a sentence together or be full of energetic enthusiasm…and don’t even get me started about Ash…

This week Joanna - member of the Gold and Black Company did the thing I asked people to do which was visit a group and blog about it...partly because I asked to go and assist Danny and partly because she's nice like that... This week I filled in for Rob at the Green Company with Danny. I was a bit nervous to start with because I’d only ever assisted at sessions where they’re a lot younger and far less scary and I did the whole ‘what if they don’t really like me?’ thing but they all said hello (in lots of different emotions, as directed by Danny) and I decided they weren’t that scary… until it was announced that the theme of the session was ‘Beat Joanna’ which was nice because they killed me first in Mafia and made a beeline for me in Funky Seaweed. Then Danny and I had this conversation; Danny: Do you want to run a game? Me: Definitely not Danny: Why? Me: I’ve never run one, I might at Eastmoor soon but I’ve never been to this session before. Next we played loads more games, inclu

Today the blog comes from Amy...member of the Sapphire and Ruby Companies...I would say nice things about her but I'd be accused of bias... On Tuesday night we did a really interesting thing about leaders. We played a simpler version of ‘make it’, where we made letter shapes instead of pictures. I was having lots of trouble with my group, because no one was listening. Then Gemma asked the four oldest of us to come up to the front, she told the rest of the class that they were not allowed to speak, and the four oldest were to try and lead us, so that everyone spelled ‘bottom’ (Marcus chose the word.) I decided to focus on the last part; I looked really carefully and told people how to do it, shuffling people in different directions. I’m a perfectionist, so everything had to be just right. We thought we’d finished but we had two people left over, then we realized we’d missed out an ‘o’! We hurriedly made one and put it in the correct place. The four leaders then went and sat down at

I was chatting to someone yesterday who commented on how busy it was on a Saturday morning at Thornes Park, he’d visited the Gold Company a couple of weeks ago. As I was agreeing with him and telling him that there were over 30 members most mornings I had a flash of the significance of this fact. Over 30 people take the time each Saturday morning to come and be creative with us. They forfeit a precious sleep in and devote the time they could do anything else in, to working with us. That’s just at Thornes Park…over the other side of Wakefield there are another three groups working with Gemma which adds up to another 65 people…so Yew Tree Youth Theatre have about 95 people each Saturday prepared to invest there valuable time with us. To do this they have to negotiate lifts, travel, family arrangements, the plans of friends who aren’t members…it’s pretty complex stuff… So I want to say thanks…thanks for taking this time on Saturdays and any other Yew Tree day (which is most of the da

The wonderful Ellie Moran boys and girls... This is the first time I've written the blog... and I can't say I'm brilliant for writing long paragraphs about what has gone on and what has inspired me, but with Yew Tree it seems so simple especially the Christmas Carol... When we first started to direct Scrooge, I didn't really get into it that much, due to the fact that I hadn't seen the film or read the book. So improvising and devising on it seemed difficult, but as the weeks have gone on my mind has been inspired to what happens next... every week I wonder how the scene will continue, what will happen next, will scrooge realise? Will he learn? And I suppose it makes devising the piece ten times more exciting. This week we did "The Arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Present" it really made us laugh out loud, it must be one of the most brilliant scenes out of the whole play. I play the part of a narrator...and as that part it gives me the opportunity to not

I was considering the constancy of Yew Tree YT last week. Within that frame of constancy some people are part of the youth theatre and then go off onto the next stage of their lives… some of them return again, some of them check in occasionally… and still some of them do neither but go off to live the rest of their lives independently from us. I was considering all of this in light of the fact that this has been happening, in some form or other, for the last 14 years. FOURTEEN YEARS!!!! I suddenly had a moment of self doubt because the last thing I would want is for Yew Tree Youth Theatre to stay static… So many questions consequently followed…does constancy infer stasis? Does reliability engender torpor (it means apathy… and dullness)? Does consistency inspire complacency? It wasn’t a nice moment…and, in fact, it lasted longer than a moment… The thought of Yew Tree being predictable, commonplace and therefore devalued was all a bit of a nightmare really… But then last weekend happe

“Today has been a ridiculous day… It started with Christmas Carol rehearsal which is the most rewarding thing in the world…then followed by the journey to York in wind that made driving scary… Then I lead workshops with non Yew Tree People – which raised a whole set of interesting issues and finished by watching a performance of something that fundamentally didn’t fit with my artistic principles but that entertained me anyway… What I was left with was the sense that I get to spend my time with the most amazing people…” The above was my attempt at putting a blog together on Saturday night…a blog that I was going to look at and sort out on Sunday morning…but because the weekend got increasingly more ridiculous…I haven’t had chance so I’m going to leave it at that because it pretty much sums up Saturday…and also the other two blogs for the week succeed where I failed…you know by actually including information and things… Promise I’ll do better next week…

Aaron from the Black Company and Gold Company reporting in as well this week...it's been a busy time...you can absolutely hear his intonation in the way it's written... Me again, I'm here to write about the workshops that a few of us attended yesterday in York. We started the workshops all together with a popular Yew Tree warm up 'people to people' and this where the nice things I'm saying pretty much come to a stop for the workshops. We were split into groups with a unique system of coloured scribbles on the stickers with our names on. The first workshop I attended was puppetry and hearing this I was fairly excited about it because puppets are cool. But here is a quick definition of puppetry just incase you're not aware of it, "Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets." We didn't do this. We MADE puppets. If the process of making puppets is called 'puppetry' then we did do a workshop on pu

I don't need to introductions for this one he's done it all himself... Robert Girgis here aka reviewer for you....Last night the cast of 'Conversations' had the chance to see a piece of theatre by Pluck titled 'The Specialists'. It contains three characters, Mr Yarlsberg and Mr Abanathie are violinists and Miss Kadifachi is a cellist. These three musicians have the task of putting on a classical music concert for the audience. Everything however doesn't go to plan. First off I can't emphasise enough the musical talent of the actors, it takes something quite special to play to a high standard while moving furniture, negotiating a second violin or teaming up with a fellow actor to play one violin while the other is blind. This piece really did add fuel to the that fact that theatre is so incredibly diverse and entertaining. If I had seen the premise of the play on paper I may have been in danger of writing it off yet it did manage to capture me. The one th

So the university goers have gone and there has been the usual losses of old members and gains of new starters that happens at this time of year…I’m enjoying the fact that over the next few weeks we can really get down to the business of creating and making, discovering and developing. There is always a somewhat transient quality to the first few weeks of the autumn term…mirrored by the seasonal changes evident as you look out of any window. The summer is such a long holiday and during it people alter, their circumstances change and their perspectives shift. These individual changes, and their impact on the youth theatre as a whole, take a little while to stabilise and there is a slight air of uncertainty until they do… Today at Gold Company rehearsals I got a real sense that that was happening… despite the couple of absences what we had was a company working together to tell a story everyone believes is worth telling…we achieved so much in what seemed like such a short period of tim

This weeks guest blogger is Jordan Layton who is aged 12 and attends the Sapphire Company that meet on a Monday night… This week at Yew Tree the Sapphire Company have been rehearsing the script for Beauty and the Beast. We first played killer 12. Most people got rid of their friends within the game. Next we went over the beginning section of the script up to where the witches exit. It is really cool just rehearsing and rehearsing as you can get it right for when you add more things. Also this week we did best and worse of the week and most people said that their worst was that they had lots of homework. Within the last half an hour we played the laughing game most people went out in the third round and it just came down to two people for the final round it was so cool, we all got them out though apart from Matt who won. The session was the best yet as we were rehearsing so much it was really fun.

Aaron (Black and Gold companies) manned up this week...luckily for Jordan (Hill)... Hi it's me again, looks like I've writen the next blog. So I have decided to write it about the upcoming shows (or at least the ones i'm in) and how they have developed. The first show I will talk about is the Saturday morning groups performance of A Christmas Carol. We've only been back for 2 weeks but you can see how much people are looking forward to it and because of it people can't help but anticipate a good and enjoyable performance. It also makes everyone get into the Christmas spirit months in advance which is great and it gives me an excuse to watch "Scrooged" starring Bill Murry (not that i need an excuse). I think that the casting is brilliant (although I'm not sure what to make out of me being cast as Scrooge) and everyone will be able to do great jobs of their roles. Thursday nights group performance is also looking brilliant, completely different from Satu

Now the youth theatre is very definitely back up and running my blog this week is going to document some of my Yew Tree highlights from the last seven days…in no particular order and with the disclaimer that there were many others it’s just these are the ones that really stood out for me… Number 1 – The sheer number of people that are now involved in the youth theatre, at each first session of the term that I have facilitated I’ve been astonished at the size of the group. That all these talented, enthusiastic, wonderful people would want to spend their precious none studying/none working hours with Yew Tree is a continual delight to me….thank you… Number 2 – The new starters and returners, it’s always good to see a couple of new faces at a group as they provide an extra enhancing element to the company that they join. Two in particular stand out to me this term. A younger member of the Sapphire company who has apparently talked about Yew Tree so much since attending ,her brother wan

We also have a guest blog by Charlotte...who will be a much missed member of the Black Company now she's left to start university... Ok… so today, I moved in my stuff to my uni accommodation. It reminded me that I’m leaving Yew Tree, that I’m leaving something that has changed part of me (for the better obvsss)... but still, it’s gonna feel weird. Since I asked Sarah early if I could have this blog, I’ve been thinking most of the week and I’ve realised, this is where I can sum up my Yew Tree experience… so I’m gonna. Yew Tree started after I helped out by playing a character in Giving Something Back, after that it’s been 17+ all the way! At first, I remember being scared that I’m not good enough but in reality, Yew Tree isn’t like that. If you’re one of the weaker in the group, you get aided by everyone so you don’t feel behind, and that’s something I love. Everyone supports each other like a full on tree (that’s what came into my head) like, Sarah is the grass below and we are all

First guest blogger of the week is Jess Moore...member of the Gold and Black companies...and somehow for the second week in a row Dee manages to put in an appearance... With Thursday nights (Black Company) still carrying on over the summer I didn't really realise how much I'd missed Saturday mornings...but they're brilliant and it was sooo good to be back :) I get pretty passionate about a lot of the performances we do with Yew Tree, but I love A Christmas Carol and Sarah's version is brilliant. Really looking forward to it! Also just gonna point out that best and worst never fails to make me laugh ha. There are so many different personalities at Yew Tree and the stories that are told are brilliant. I realise I've said brilliant 3 times now...ah well, moving on...so yeh Saturday mornings ha...we had some new people today. People always manage to just slot right in and by the end of the session its as if they've been there forever :) That's good is that in my

The opening of A Christmas Carol as devised by the Gold Company this morning in their first rehearsal back… It’s a cold crisp December afternoon…the sunlight sparkles as it meets the frost and the air is filled with anticipation. It’s Christmas eve and in amongst the preparation for the festivities people meet, gather and draw close sustained by the tangible magic that charges the air… A young woman walks along the street…she is cold…in her eagerness to look good for her new romance she had forgotten how much the temperature has dropped…taking her place where they planned to meet she waits for a moment…a flash of doubt crosses her face, will he turn up? Suddenly he is there holding his hand out to her as her now upturned face lights up in a smile…they run off to enjoy their precious hours together…intoxicated by the newness of everything. As they leave a young man enters and pauses to check his phone, he’s been looking forward to today, a chance to catch up with a friend all too abse

Well...desperate times call for desperate measures...I had no volunteers so I had to do a bit of press ganging...the result is this...cheers team... Alice: Right so I said I’d do the blog but didn’t know what to do and Dee piped up with ‘welll the 17+ groups new thingymajig is conversations yeah ... lets converse times ha’ :)...so we’re doing a conversational blog...nice cop out on my part :) Right so on Thursday we did the warm up as usual which I absolutely loved even if me and Callum had to get inhalered a few times :( (Can you tell I’m writing this with Dee?) then we started putting the piece together and after the pre-show/bit at the beginning I sat down to learn my lines but didn’t get very far (must try harder) because watching other people was so interesting. Like I watched Joanna and Jess and saw them do exactly what I’d done the week before: just say : ’erm...I dunno’ and then stand there lol but in the end they got there and it was mint. Then I watched India (working with Ca

This time next week I won’t be sat writing about the youth theatre, I’ll be directing it…next Saturday it all begins again, first youth theatre sessions of the term with the Gold, Red, Purple and Crimson Company back in action…and from that point the rainbow will regain its colourful glory as each group begins their newest journey…I’m very much looking forward to it… It’s an odd time…because there’s a real sense of anticipation, given extra fuel because in some ways the term leading up to Christmas has an extra magic…however it’s tinged with an aura of melancholy as in amongst this launch into the new term we have to do a certain amount of saying goodbye. One of the aspects of the youth theatre that has become more prevalent as we have become more established is that people stay for longer and each year in September we now have to say goodbye to those who are travelling on to the next bit of their education and training. There’s a strange feeling of pride, optimism and sadness as last

There’s been quite a lot of behind the scenes activity this week at Yew Tree…preparations for next term are very much in full swing…which makes me a very happy youth theatre director. Highlights of preparation are as follows…venues for the sessions booked for required dates, scripts photocopied ready for distribution, theatre tickets for trips reserved, letters for members printed, enveloped and posted, extra projects researched and planned. I’m going to focus on two of the above for my weekend musings this week…the first is the letters…yes, yes, I’m fully aware that this cannot possibly hold your attention for more than 10 seconds so I’ll make this bit brief…the mountain of letters stacked up in “the office” by the end of the day was a sight to see…a sight to see… And if I could be permitted one more sentence on this topic I would like to thank Ashleigh and Charlotte for their hard work writing out all of the envelopes… we couldn’t have done it without them… The second area of focus

Jess Hopwood (black company)is our guest blogger of the week...she get's top marks for asking me on Thursday if she could do the blog...the end of my week is significantly brightened if I already have a volunteer...top tip for you all there... There’s been more than a few times at yew tree when I’ve been completely blown away or inspired by what we’ve either done as a team or what I’ve watched others in the group do. I reckon I’ve kind of grown to expect it now, watching bars being raised and all that. So, this is why I was totally surprised in last night’s 17+ session…turns out physical theatre adds a whole new atmosphere into the group- and it’s absolutely immense to be part of it. One of the main things what I’ve noticed in the last two sessions is the amount of energy within the group, not just when everybody is moving- but even when we’re given the direction just to make eye contact and hold it with someone. In one of the warm-up exercises, if Sarah said “stereo”, we all had t

We went from no guest blogs to 2...couldn't be happier...thanks to Callum for this one...in addition to being a central member of the black and gold company he is also a valued assistant within the youth theatre... At the start of the summer I was pretty gutted that I wasn’t going to be at Yew Tree for an entire summer but then it was fine because we’ve got Thursday group every week. So for the last few weeks we’ve been attempting to try and decipher the errr cryptic stimulus that we got given. None the less I was bloody over the moon because it meant not only do I still see a large amount of the Yew Tree’ers I would have missed but also we got to do physical theatre workshops for the holidays. I love physical theatre there’s nothing quite as relaxing as not thinking about anything but moving your body. So it’s been smashing for stopping me losing it for the last couple of weeks. Well I say relaxing it’s been a right work out. It’s like cross training for three hours. Particularly

Thank goodness for Dee... indispensible member of the black and gold companies... Okay sooo sorry if this is a bit rubbish, I don’t really have technical vocabulary ha but yeah, Sarah had no blogger and we can’t not have a blogger so yeah I’ll stop rambling and get on with it … I was back at my first Thursday night after missing 2 due to been holidaying… and man I missed it, so much in fact that on a Thursday evening whilst in Crete I wrote Yewtree in the sand aha .. :| … but yeah so I reappeared with Moore by my side and it was sooo good to see all the team again (: alsooo we’ve started doing physical theatre which I haven’t done in ridiculous amounts of time and I actually loved it I remember starting it the session before I went away and it was literally as someone said ‘like therapy’, y’see all the pieces I’ve been involved in recently are all acting, but like speaking acting… stuff I’m used to, but this new piece we don’t speak we like communicate using our bodies so its like phys