What's happening at YTYT

I got the idea for this blog when reading Rachel’s application form she has to submit before she can audition at LIPA. It asked her for 4 things she would like to improve if she got the chance to train there…it’s a tough question but a truly vital one for anyone who really wants to make a success in acting wither for it’s own sake or because they want to make a living in it. It occurred to me that looking at what’s next in your development can be a good idea, simply so you get the most out of the Youth Theatre experience. Even if you are actually intending to be a doctor, or a mechanic or a zoo keeper in your real life (ie the one you lead outside Yew Tree) it’s still a good thing to have your eyes on what your creative possibilities might be. The reason it’s good is that nothing beats that sense of satisfaction and achievement when you know you’ve done better than you ever have before – even if that’s just in a workshop exercise or in a game. Also it makes me reeeaalllllyyy hap

Emma with some thoughts inspired by a morning in Wakefield I was sat in the window of Costa today waiting for someone who was late and I planned to hit the sales... but I got a bit distracted and ended up just people-watching out of the window. And I was watching everyone go along in their own little bubbles, paying very little attention to anyone else. But there was one man who was sat on an outside table. He had a loveheart in the foam on his coffee and he took it straight off with the spoon. :| Then he looked at the person beside him and wrinkled his nose. Niiiice. But I digress. I realised when we do street cafe at Yew Tree, we rarely decide to be 70% of the people I watched today - perhaps because we don't pay them enough attention in real life. We sometimes act the stereotypes because this sits comfortably in our heads, or we play young people. And the stereotypes and the young people are present in the street, but there are lots of others there too!!

Danny Southern it appears has the last word Merry Christmas Yew-Tree-ers!!! Well this is a tad late but I thought that perhaps my blog can be a xmas prezzie from me to yew (see what I did there??). Sapphire company = legends. Omg they were fantastic on tuesday and wednesday!! No fluffed up - or if they did, it was really well covered up and best of all... THE AUDIENCE LAUGHED!!!!! The princesses were amazing with one person from the audience calling Alanya "a right little star in the making" and Ross as "sheer genius". Everyone was EXCEPTIONAL! The princesses flowed quickly and efficiently but most of all, they projected - get-in!! I've got to say, I was utterly impressed with Heather, Darcie and Faye who all were just plain class. All the princesses made me feel proud to be part of yew tree an see how all their characters have developed from way back ages ago to the well thought out masterpieces delivered on stage. I LOVED Milly, Tilly and Lily! They actually m

T’was the night before Christmas and all through Yew Tree Not a person was working, not even me. But the blogs were still uploaded on the website with care, In the hope that the dedicated would venture there. The readers that hoped for some last minute word From the writers of Yew tree, however absurd. Those that knew with a certainty, rightly given, That despite the festive season they’d be generously written Hey there!…if you are reading this you are hardcore Yew Tree through and through…it’s Christmas eve and you’re reading the blog…that’s impressive….no really, it’s realllly impressive…you should have some sort of award….in fact here’s what I’m going to do…when you’ve read this (and the guest blog too of course) go to the facebook fanpage and let us know you have (either by liking the status saying that the blogs are up or posting up a comment on the wall) and I’ll invent an award…I’m starting to think of the title such dedication deserves as I type this…by the time you post up I’l

This Festive Masterpiece is by none other than Joanna Nick...hurry for her! Twas the night before Christmas and all through Wakefield Young people were thinking of what next year might yield And of all the things that this one has brought Lessons we’ve learnt and things we’ve been taught. First in the calendar was Open Mic Night 5 Where people performed and the room came alive. With a sprinkling of magic and a dusting of cheer, Lots of flowers on the table and friends we hold dear. A raffle was drawn, competitions were won, And so with the first event the year was begun. The next thing up was Sparkleshark A journey on which 18 of us embarked With trials and challenges and accomplishments too (And not to forget Karamazoo.) Next was the Shakespeare festival held at Clarke Hall The sun was shining, a lovely day had by all. With thou’s and art’s and thy’s and thee’s Everyone o’ercome with frivolity. The summer school at Nostell happened in August The rain poured down but the cast were robu

Lucy reports in on our joint bonus games session... When I said I’d do a blog about this Saturday’s session I thought it would be easy, because I knew how much I was looking forward to it and I knew it wouldn’t disappoint. And don’t get me wrong, it definitely hasn’t, it’s been amazing, but I’m finding it hard to actually put into words just how brilliant it was. This Saturday was a games session at Yew Tree. Sounds simple enough. But oh no, 50 people, that’s right, 50 people turned up. Which is a lovely thing in itself because it wasn’t a mandatory thing that they had to attend. But still 50 people, all from different companies, came together just to have a bit of fun. We played lots of games and generally had loads of fun. My favourite game was definitely King Of The Jungle. We added in a dinosaur and watching people try to make the noise for it was hilarious. And it’s just a brilliant game anyway. Love a bit of King Of The Jungle, it’s a game we should definitely play more. But I th

I have all sorts of things scrambling through my brain vying to be the thing I write about today…how could I fail to having had a week of shows and a bonus session today and a truly inspiring Shooting Truth rehearsal and a continual influx of brilliant and abundant guest blogs…all of which are simply stunning… However the main thought I am left with at the end of the week/term/year is how unstoppable Yew Tree Youth Theatre is…a visitor to the youth theatre described it as a movement and more and more I think he got that so right…we just can’t seem to get enough…In years gone by we would finish well before Christmas and not do anything until well into the new year but what with the blogs, shared workshops like this morning, Yule tide writer’s sessions, Black Company workshops and Shooting Truth rehearsals that is absolutely no longer the case…there is no halt to the creativity and the demand from you wonderful people for the opportunity to immerse yourselves in all that is Yew Tree. Lu

Thomas McNulty with his thoughts on performance week... A first performance of any show, in any theatre has a lasting and wonderful effect on all of those that participate. Its director, its performers, its crew, and everyone involved have the great chance of excelling themselves beyond their potential and do something they never thought they could have ever have done before. No more so I think than with someone who is new to Yew Tree and performing for the first time in a Yew Tree setting, or in fact performing for first time in front of any well made audience and in the theatre that presented this years Christmas shows in…. However by all accounts on both Tuesday and Wednesday night, it was an exceptional evening of performances. I was very pleased and honoured to see such talent come from all the different groups that Yew Tree is made up from and from my observations, many of the groups and their occupants really did do something they thought they could do and they all loved every m

Clark Bradley...Purple Company... Christmas With Yew Tree At The Phoenix Theatre On the 14th-15th of December Yew Tree Youth Theatre held a two day concert. I’m covering the 15th, The Purple Company started the show off with a comedy remake of a classic Christmas song: ‘The Twelve Days Of Yew Tree’. A member of the audience quotes: ‘‘Very good, all worked very well as a team, exceptionally funny. No mistake that I saw.’’ The next play on second was not a remake but a modern version Of ‘The Princess And The Pea’, I particularly enjoyed this one, as it was very funny at times and the acting was excellent! Black companies ‘Lost Happy Endings’ finished the first act off with a stunning performance. A quote from an actor in Black Company says: ‘‘ As part of YTYT it’s good to see all different ages performing’’. In my eyes, ‘Worn Out Shoes’ by Gold Company stole the whole evening. Normally being me, I can speak for England (and the rest of the UK), everyone knows that but I could only find t

Micheal Brown AKA Prince Sebastian with his performance week experience... Waoh, can't believe it's been like two years since I've written a blog... That's two Yew Tree Christmas shows ago. Speaking of the Christmas shows, our latest ones happened to be on Tuesday and Wednesday! (In case you wern't already aware...) Usually, before going on a stage I get this feeling of: Nervousness, fear, adrenaline, panic, terror, scared of being shot by some maniac on the back row with a sniper! (That never happens). But at Yew Tree, for some reason it's easier. You can just walk on stage, perfectly calm and just do it. But seriously, the whole thing was amazing, all of it. I'm not sure what I enjoyed the most; being on stage performing, or watching others just smash it with their brill plays. I don't think I could put my finger on which one I liked the most, it was clear as, urmm... a clear piece of glass, they had all put tons of time and effort into them. But one t

Jess Moore and her experience of OMN 6... Soo... never been as nervous in my life. Actually pacing and everything. However once I actually got up there I right enjoyed it! Plus you couldn’t perform in front of more supportive people. Even had Sarah holding my hand ha. I was ridiculous…but Jack Davies you were brilliant...made me feel better even though I made you nervous. Sorry ha. Oh and your voice is sensational :) Anyway…the whole night was brilliant! Great atmosphere, great entertainment and great people. I really enjoyed everyone’s performances and it’s nice that each open mic night someone performs that hasn’t before. The whole night made me feel Christmassy and I hadn’t really felt that until then :) I think the decorations helped. Looked really pretty and festive. Couldn’t however handle the name of our team for the yew tree quiz. Something to do with Rudolf and pink fluffy Santa’s helpers – Yeh Dee definitely came up with that. Dee just peered over my shoulder by the way and s

James B. Gives an account of the last Yew Tree session of term... The best Yew Tree I've honestly ever been to. So many people turned out in the snow one last time before Christmas. With everyone on such a high after Tuesday and Wednesday brought amazing performances from all groups Yew Tree, it was pretty much already set up for an amazing morning. As is tradition we start with best and worst, well, today it was just best, which is great for the participating of gold members who like to rack up a word count, me being one of those people. The laughing game was even better than it normally is at gold, somehow a large group of people managed to resist laughter at Danny and Ash’s various antics that normally decimate gold company. I have to say thought I have never seen a song in there before, so yeah, respect to everyone that managed to keep a straight face. I’m not going to go through every game, because there is so much to say and so many moments to include. But hot rice, have not

I am delighted to welcome Ian Morris to the blog...he worked for Yew Tree in the early days and he's writing this as an attendee of our magical Open Mic NIght 6... The night Christmas arrived in Wakefield. Twas a few nights before Christmas and all through Wakey town, not a creature was stirring, except the usual evening's offerings of drunken revellers, taxi drivers, and those weird people you find in every town and city on the planet who don't appear to have any purpose or a rational sense of hygiene. The ones who congregate around bus stations and always seem to approach you to ask for a light, some money or a chance to unload some of their precious spittle on your shoes! I digress. The previous weeks snow had all but melted, but in a small pocket of Wakefield, the festive spirit was about to get a royal kick in the baubles...Yew Tree style! I walked into the back bar of Henry Boons, as a bit of an old hand at Open Mic Evenings. I have spent many an evening sat in a diml

Hey, its Laura "staggsy" Staggs with my first ever blog. First of all I would like to say to Sapphire that you were all epic on Tuesday and Wednesday. Every single one of you are sooo unique and talented and im sooo pleased I joined Yew Tree! You're all my little slightly insane family and I dont know where I would be without you all. I have to say that without Danny, Ben, Jack, Michael, Jake, Gee, Olena, Holly, Emma, Amy O and Kate I wouldnt be the person I am today. They are all so lovely, talented and loyal friends that you would be lucky to meet them!!! People at Sapphire come and go but they always make an impression on us all. I hope that life at Yew Tree will always be as amazing as this. I will miss you all over christmas break, but until January this Yew Treeer is over and out :) x

The first blog of this week is from Rhiann... The thrill of being on stage is exciting but almost heartbreaking when you know the older people in your company are leaving - people who you have grown to know, become friends with and learnt everything off. We were performing Cinderella, on the Tuesday night - however my first thought wasn’t about been scared it was about ‘let’s make this the best performance with the leavers of Crimson Company’. I suppose that was what everyone was thinking. So with nervous tummies, we went out on the stage and did the most brilliant performance we could. Everything went smoothly and to plan, even if a few lines were missed. But to think a few months ago, we’d only just got our parts and had begun to read the scripts, then it changed to this. It made me realise how much effort was put in by everyone, especially Gemma and Joanna who couldn’t have done better as they made the most heart string pulling, beautiful crafted play! After we’d finished the play a

So what to write after a day like yesterday, after a week like last week…perhaps start with an apology…the blogs are a day late…I know, I know…dreadful behaviour for a youth theatre director that expects so much from her actors…so yes I’m sorry…it’s a lot to do with the fact that I was so busy living this week at Yew Tree that I had very little time to reflect upon it. What with performances at Nostell Priory, all the usual sessions, Shooting Truth, a full day of Tech rehearsals and an Open Mic Night…there was very little time to eat and sleep never mind sit at a computer and try and think about what was going on to be able to write about it in any kind of cohesive manner. But here I am Monday morning trying to make amends…and I’m a little stumped as to what to make of it…I’m so proud and impressed by all of you. I saw so many people achieve things they haven’t achieved before yesterday, overcome personal barriers of nerves, uncertainty and confidence. I saw people reap rewards for

Jasmine from Ivory and Crimson Company writes about the performances at Nostell on Wednesday On December 8th, the rooms of Nostell Priory were holding members from Yew Tree Youth Theaters Black Company, and Writers Group. Visitors to the priory were invited to join the keeper of the Happy Endings on her journey, and to listen to poems and stories inspired by the beauty of Nostell. Throughout the evening, numerous performances were held throughout the house; and the night ended with a final performance from the Black Company. From the reactions I saw and heard, everyone was extremely impressed with the professionalism and quality of the performances. Finally, the rooms of Nostell Priory were used for what they were originally created to do: entertain.

I’m going to devote this blog to a phenomena I’ve noticed getting more and more prevalent in rehearsals. For reasons beyond anybody’s control – illness, snow, ice, other performances, badminton matches…yep you read right…badminton matches…there’s been quite a lot of absence over the last week or so…but has this got in the way of being able to run our soon to be performed Christmas plays…? Has it fairycakes…and why I hear you ask. How on earth have you managed to stop significant absence blighting your penultimate run throughs? Well…funny you should ask…I’ll tell you how…because the sense of ensemble in my casts is second to none…that’s how… In both Sapphire and Gold company it doesn’t matter what part I throw at my actors…who I ask people to stand in for, what I ask them to cover, they just get on and do it. There is no fuss, there is no ego, there is no hierarchy…there is just brilliant acting and pure ensemble working and it makes me so very proud…almost emotionally proud…I’m alw

Jess Moore everyone...hurray for Jess...just generally... So Dee very kindly offered me up for this week’s blog... but seen as though I’ve never done one the whole time I’ve been at Yew Tree it is about time I manned up ha. So I woke up thinking I would like to stay in bed all day but I got up anyway and I’m glad! For one the snow has affected all sessions so far with its presence so I was having yew tree withdrawal symptoms and two, Yew Tree always makes you feel better. We were working on The Worn out Shoe’s and even though we were like half a cast down it’s probably the smoothest run we’ve done in time. And it made me excited to perform it! I don’t think you would get a chorus anywhere like the chorus we have… stepping in for parts brilliantly and not at all affecting the run. Ed & Alice’s scene was brilliant today, the relationship between them is so good and neither part would be as strong without the other. I’d probably be here all day if I listed all the positives about the

Danny Southern is back in da house... Yo Yewtree-ers! Soz it’s been a while since my last blog. It’s just sheer forgetfulness. Honestly… Anyway, here’s the down-low on what happened at this Monday’s Sapphire group… Well… WE GOT THROUGH THE WHOLE SCRIPT! Yes, guys, you got that right, we’re in a lot better of a position than last year; panicking, last-minute line learning and just unprecedented chaos in general. But that was old Sapphire! The new Sapphire has rose from the ashes and is ‘soaring high’ – omg, can’t believe how cheesey that line is! Anyway, what happened? Well guys, I’ve got to say, I’m impressed. Lines are phenononononononononenmal (Michael and Olena in particular – go guys!) and a big shout out to Alanya – I was absolutely blown away by Oratoria; my jaw literally dropped. She came out from the line and just owned the stage! Sad news about Jordan not being able to do the panto, but Darcie has stepped up to the mark and is doing the role expertly. Grendle – what a leg. Emm

It’s difficult to know what to write about as there is just so much Yew Tree Theatreness going on. I’ve had so many brilliant moments at youth theatre this week and equally it has been a week full of challenges. Sapphire are struggling towards consistency, their high points are an absolute pleasure if they could always work at their best they’d be breathtaking. Green are well on their way with their new project and inspired me to start writing their script after their session on Monday. Gold are trying to attain the excellence they know they are capable of and the read through of “Shooting Truth,” was a delight to be part of, so full of potential. And those are just the things I’ve done…there are two versions of 12 days of Christmas in rehearsal, Crimson are in the final throws of their rehearsals for Cinderella and the writers are preparing to be all ready for their sharings at Nostell Priory and Open Mic Night. However I think I’m going to focus the remainder of this blog on the

Emma Fretwell makes an appearance as this weeks guest blogger... Yew Tree, hey. Today has been a clumsy clumsy clumsy day. I’ve fallen, slipped, fully face-planted… So there was very little hope for me in the brilliantly choreographed dance to the Bolero. But I have to say, it’s looking good. I think we might all finally be getting it! The Worn Out Shoes is going to be spectacular. All the Christmas shows are going to be spectacular. Mili (Purple Company) is so excited for their play too, and she tells me "We're going to be fantastic!" But the Worn Out Shoes, it’s coming on a treat. Ed puts in a consistently brilliant performance as the King, and he’s really grown into the character. Every session there is a new level to his performance and it’s just so great to watch. The ensemble are excellent with their physical theatre and this week it has sharpened up. Worn Out Shoes, yesssssssssss. There are very, very few sane, rational people in this play. Ever. And when you’re in

All the shows I’m directing are finished in that they now have all the nuts and bolts laid out in the right order that will enable us to make a performable piece of theatre out of…so Hurrah for that. However in order for them to create a performable piece of theatre that people will understand, engage with and enjoy a number of things sometimes quite tricky to define have to happen. One of the things that has to happen is that everyone on stage has to start responding absolutely and entirely in every moment of the production. The amount of things they need to respond to and the amount of energy and concentration that requires is quite awe inspiring. Firstly the technical stuff they have to respond to the basic requirements of being heard and seen in the way the production demands which involves both vocal ability, effort and special awareness. Next taking that special awareness even further they have to respond aesthetically with an idea of how the stage picture looks at times. Af

Rachel who plays the central of Jub in "Lost Happy Endings," feeds back on Thursday nights performance experience... Soooo the first performance of, "The Lost Happy Endings!!" Everything seemed to happen so quick...one minute we were in the middle of a rehearsal, next minute we are told that we’re up next!! So it was a little frightening that we ended up going on quicker than we expected, but being Yew Tree and being so very professional, we all got ourselves in the zone and went on to perform the best that we ever had done!! Playing Jub has been really exciting for me...mainly for the fun and drama of climbing on and up many members of the Black Company (who can say they’ve done that eh?). It has been one of those performances where you spend so much time being creative devising the actual physical theatre part of it that you don’t have as much time as usual to establish your own character. I think establishing my character really happened for me properly for the

Tom from the Black Company, with some thoughts about the premier of Lost Happy Endings Hello all…Just thought I'd write a little blog about the Black Company's first performance of, "The Lost Happy Endings," at The Phoenix Theatre on Thursday evening and is also our current project for this years Christmas showcase and Nostel Priory performances as well…The performance went amazingly well for the Black Company and we all had a very enjoyable time performing at The Phoenix again. One of the things that struck me during this time, between our short tech run and after we came off stage finishing the performance was how sudden and fast it all went for the cast. However it made the experience of performing The Lost Happy Endings for the first time that more special, especially when we where able perform a very different style of performance than some of the other companies who had performed that night who had singing numbers or dance numbers etc. We took the audience in a

Danny Southern once again Ladies and Gentlemen YEW TREE HOUSE MASSIVE!!! It’s me (again) and I’m gonna tell ya’ll what happened at Sapphire Group on Monday. Well… where to begin?? We did a quick round of best and worst early so we could get cracking with the script this week. Unfortunately, Danny couldn’t be there cos of his injury and shizzle, but we still managed to cope without his insane anecdotes of the week. After rapidly setting the session off with woes and groans, and cheers and chuckles, we started with the almighty Princess and the Pea. Now, being a narrator, I’m pretty much on stage all the time, so I can see what’s happening more-or-less all of the time from an audience and actor’s perspective. I really couldn’t fault much this week. Everyone seems a lot more confident in what they are doing, people are learning their lines and characters seem stronger by every scene. All we need to do now guys is to keep up the energy from the first half of the play – well saying that, th

I can get more than a little obsessive about pace…as a director that is…not just randomly in life…that would be weird… At this time of rehearsals when everything is staged in broad brush strokes and its time to polish the run throughs of scenes into performable pieces of theatre it becomes one of the many things that I become obsessed with. This morning I had one of those glorious moments when the cast found the natural pace of the piece and things instantly fell into place as a result. It’s hard to describe the effect that this has on me. It’s a state of both relaxation and excitement because it’s just right…it feels, looks and sounds right and then I don’t worry about how to make it right anymore because it is. The flow of the words is in synch with the action on the stage and the meaning behind both of these things. It’s such a delight when you watch it happen…such a joy… So Gold company have reminded me what it is I’m aiming for in the 6 pieces of performance I’m working on for

Natalie from the Gold Company accepted my challenge this week to write her first blog...and it's lovely Okay, this is my first ever blog so I apologise in advance if it is terrible! At the moment, in Gold Company we are rehearsing for our Christmas show and I would basically like to use this blog to point out how impressed I am with it. I have taken part in so many plays over the years and I may even go so far as to say that this is the best one. From the beautifully choreographed dance routine to the fantastically sadistic character of the king, I love it all. I am incredibly pleased to take on the part of Georgia because like all the other princesses she is such an intriguing and complex character. The high standard and overall team effort means that it is almost impossible to single out just one part due to the fact that it is all so brilliant. This team spirit is echoed throughout the work of the youth theatre and I would just like to comment on how wonderful I think Yew Tree i

Hey, Bobbie, from the Green Company again, this is my 2nd blog. On Wednesday we started to get 'Children's Excursion, platform No. 5' up and running by creating our characters for Sarah. Before, however we played a few games like the 'yes and...' game to get us in the right frame of mind to create a character. Sarah then asked us, after the 3 or 4 games, to sit on our own and close our eyes. She then started to ask us questions about what our character would be like, and obviously, what our character would be called. After this we had to get into pairs and tell the other person about our character then in turn ask them 5 questions about theirs, so we could add more depth to them. We then had to go into different pairs and tell them, again, about our character but add on what we answered to the questions that had been asked before. Then Sarah asked us to tell her about our characters and she would make links between them all, like Katie Hart and Sarah Day's chara

Process versus product. This week’s late blog (sorry about that) is inspired by the Sapphire Company; specifically last week’s rehearsal of The Princess and the Pea. Each company of Yew Tree Youth Theatre has it’s own distinct personality, and each one of those personalities is pretty complex. I like this about the youth theatre, I think it gives the whole organization a richness and I also think that it means people can enjoy different experiences. One of the things that sets Sapphire apart is the ridiculous age range with the youngest contingent being 10 years old and the oldest 17. Another feature that is incredibly prevalent in the company is that they are so very process driven. The bonus of working with a process driven group is that we have such a nice time, they’re so happy to play and watch each others work and compliment each other. They’re so very generous with kind words and they make the most out of every moment…time in the sessions goes so, so quickly and the session

Danny Southern is no longer laptopless...this is good good news and means the following is once again possible Hello my avid Yew Tree-ers! What happened on Monday in Sapphire group you cry? I don’t suppose that you’d be interested in crazy characters, struggling storms and a cripple named Danny? No? Well tough, cos you’re gonna get it anyway. Our story begins in a high school far away where the sacred place of the Yew Tree-ers gather every Monday. But this night, oh this night, a storm was brewing. The assembled crew hustled close as fortunes past and future, good and bad were told to one another. Then, all fell silent. Heads turned to look at a young man sat upon a chair, his leg shielded from view by a brace. Eyes flickered between his injury and his face, but none interrupted his anecdotes of the week. He, whom we shall name Danny (mainly because that’s his name), propped himself up and informed the ensemble that his injury was sustained from foul play at a football game. I’m sorry

Hurray for Beth from the Green Company writing a blog This session was extra special because we had Gemma and our hoodies came :) We did best and worst to start with. We played the Ha game and the King of the Jungle and the one where you're in 2 teams and the same number have to grab the scarf, all of them were fun. Then we played a game where when one person says a word you have to think of a word associated with it, this then developed into pairs plays, where you could say one word at a time, this was well cool but hard at the same time, but they all looked really good :) At the end we sat in a circle and Gemma told us about Open Mic Night and the Christmas Performances, then we played Cowboys and Indians (what a great way to end a great session)

It’s been a busy week this week to say it was half term. Not only has writers, Gold and Black kept going through the holiday but Ivory’s session was extended to become a full day of writing inspired by the theme of suspense and also Crimson had a full day to work on their brilliant version of Cinderella. At times the momentum that Yew Tree Youth Theatre is picking up is both breathtaking and a little scary…the groups are expanding, the talent is developing, the demand for our work is growing, the ambition is braver. It’s exhilarating but I’m very aware we need to keep our feet on the ground and remember what the ethos of our work is. Essentially nothing has changed about that…at the heart of our work, just as it was all those years ago when we started with just 8 members, is the development of young people’s self esteem, confidence and skills…I think what’s changed is our knowledge of how powerful that can be and how stunning the results are… All this week I have watched with pride

Jack Iredale stepped up to the role of guest blogger this week with a report in on Gold Company rehearsals The main plot point behind, "The Twelve Dancing Princess," is, obviously, the fact that they go dancing every night. Whilst hinted at it throughout the play, we don’t actually see the dance until scene ten. But even from the few rehearsals we’ve had (I say we, I’m one of the few cast members not doing it), it already looks brilliant. One of the reasons is, it’s one of the few performances I’ve seen at Yew Tree where we’ve had actual dancing. However, looking at it closely, it’s more physical theatre than full on dancing, which means that as well as being enjoyable to watch, it also means that for those...non-dancing people at Yew Tree don’t have to learn a load of complicated steps to put together a fantastic piece of physical theatre. It starts off with slow, sombre movements that change into quick paced, frantic action, the contrast working well both visually, and in

There is a risk that the theme of today’s blog will sound just a tad judgemental but I’m not going to apologise as I genuinely feel that it’s worth saying. It has come to my attention that some of the youth theatre are cowards…I can almost feel the intake of breath from across the ether…but I’m standing by it…and my discovery regarding cowardice has been made through my new litmus test…a certain game called foot stomp… So there we are at the Sapphire company playing the aforementioned game and it comes to my attention that certain individuals, who incidentally I would have thought better of are skulking in corners, using uber defensive tactics such as making pathetic little jumps just to shirk the responsibility of being on, jumping away from the action…and I have to say I was shocked…this cowardice was brought into even greater focus by the bravery of others such as Olena and, it’s important to mention, someone who had only just started that day…as I said to the skulkers at the time,

I love Dee's blog...so it's a happy week when she writes them...oh..hello happy week... I haven’t done a blog in time so thought I'd pipe up and give you a cheeky insight to the Christmas productions I’m a part of… Thursdays are always a pleasure I remember laughing a lot last Thursday such a good session including zombie-ing and scoobying it up with Ashly ha but yeah shutup Dee, we're doing, "The Lost Happy Endings," which is an absolute sensation, it’s an excuse for me to prance about so this makes me happy haa. Its gonna look so pretty with all the physical theatrey biz that goes on through it… and like at first when we started some of the team were like ‘eeek were like having to dance and spin and that!’but now everyone’s like ‘woooh lets prance around’. Well they're not ha, but everyone’s getting into it and biz and I think its fair to say we all love the piece - the amount of spins, lifts and just general images and movements we make, I just wish I g

A blog from Jamie Mottershaw who's visiting at the moment... Last night I went to see The Thrill of it all by Forced Entertainment with other members of the Black Company. I’m not going to do a review of it as we are collaboratively doing that over at Sarah’s blog but instead talk about it opening my eyes to new things. As a training actor, I have a rough idea of where I want to go in life. Some people want to be become teachers, some practitioners, directors, youth theatre leaders, or a straight-up actor are the first things that come to mind. But after seeing such a different piece of theatre it has made me wonder what else is still out there for me to experience and maybe something I absolutely love is just around the corner and will change my career direction dramatically. Although I did not like what I saw last night it was something that I would have never thought of making myself as the whole concept of the play is to go against any idea that we know and are tau

I’ve been thinking about lead roles this week… in itself it’s a strange concept within Yew Tree because the ethos in the youth theatre and the company in a wider sense is all about ensemble. I think this train of thought is maybe at the front of my head because connections is not so much on the horizon but approaching with speed and because I’m starting to see how the casting decisions we made way back in the cinema are turning out. It’s an interesting thing to ponder because after the initial thrill and sense of self satisfaction when you get the role you hoped for I think maybe getting a lead isn’t the best deal… It’s become clear as we approach the next stage of the rehearsal process for the Christmas shows that the demands placed on those with a lot of lines are significant…you have to learn the lines, remember the lines, understand the lines, communicate the lines and all this with a director who quite happily changes their mind from week to week about how she wants to stage the

Thomas McNulty enjoying his once a term pass to the Gold Company... Hello Yew Tree...Just thought id write another blog for all you blog readers...So then lets begin shall we... A few days ago I asked Sarah if I could have a cheeky visit to the Gold Company session to not only see the progress the group had been making on, "Worn Out Shoes," but to also be a part of the sessions again, even if its just once a term after I left the group along with several other strong and wonderfully committed members and friends of Yew Tree… Since leaving the Gold Company sessions, I have missed going to them so much and spending my Saturday mornings with great friends. It really hit home when I was paying for the session and noticed my name no longer on the register. However today’s little visit was brilliant because not only did I got to see some old faces, as well as some of the newest members to the Gold Company who have become part of the group so well but also the work they've been

I'm loving the fact that there is a new weekly blogger...Mr. Danny Southern ladies and gentlemen... So, here it is. My amazing blog. My amazing blog that features Laura 'Staggsy' Staggs every week. My amazing blog that features Laura 'Staggsy' Staggs every week, and she still hasn't read. Pfft. Well, we won't mention her today. Nope. So, yeah... you've blown it now Staggsy, blown it. Anyway, let's get to the wonderful world of "blissful content" and just epic-ness of Sapphire Company. What. A. Group. Even with a whole week between sessions, their little minds still remember everything. Bless. Yep, the storm was brill, we added some extra, but the main thing is, NO-ONE GOT HURT! Good times guys, good times. Everyone remebered their cues and Olena didn't get obliterated in the process so it's all good. NEWSFLASH: GRENDLE AND KATE MADE AN APPEARANCE!! But God, it was worth the wait. Emma's witchity-ness and general austere of wise

Imogen from Crimson has blogged about the Miners Memorial Service we performed on Sunday Walking down the aisle of the Abbey you see the look on the people's faces the look of sorrow and the look of hope that there loved ones are in a better place. The play we created was all about mining and it displayed the feelings and emotions of the miners the family's that have been involved with the miners for generations. You could see as people watched the play that it meant everything to some people sat there, that some relation or family had gone though this difficult, exhausting, painful hard work. Not only that I had never known much about mining but this play has shown me alot and I will aways think of the gentlemen, women and children that lost their lives. Also a brighter side too by doing the play i have found better relationships with many people from Yew Tree I have grown a stronger relationships with many and I am glad I did it.

Couldn't be happier to get another blog...This time from Catherine Harris... I’ve been at Yew Tree Youth Theatre for 6 years now, but only working with the Red Company and Gemma for about a year and a half. I started work with the younger members as part of my Duke of Edinburgh Award, but enjoyed it so much I stayed on working with them. This week in the Red Company we played some of the new games Gemma had learnt at a recent work shop. One of these was about squirrels and trees, which all the little ones seemed to enjoy and played it really well for a new game. Then we played the Bean game, which has quickly become a favourite and I was in charge. I don’t run many games but I have done this one a few times and I think it’s one of the best, as everyone loves it and it is fun to play. After that we get everyone to sit down and read a story, which one of the kids has brought in. We then split into groups and get them to perform a part of the book in their own way. This week’s book wa

Another first time blogger...hurray! This time Rhiann from Crimson Company... So this term at Yew Tree, we’ve started our play, Cinderella, which is going to be performed for Christmas which is really exciting as it’s my first Christmas play with Yew Tree. It’s my favourite fairytale and since we’ve started writing the parts, it’s reminded me of the memories of been little and reading it before bedtime with my mum. Basically, the play is bringing to life the classical fairytale which is well known across the world, and our version is going to be the best, I know it! We’ve just finalised the first couple of scenes which is great saying we’ve only been back a month as well as the fact we had to cast which Gemma did amazingly - as well as writing the monologues and the first couple of scenes. Also in Crimson, we’ve got a new helper, Joanna, who is helping Gemma by co-writing and helping with costumes - not to mention about everything else. Joanna has already become a really good part of

Asking people to do things for the youth theatre in between sessions always feels a little bit like an imposition. I like to think that, among other things, Yew Tree ticks the boxes in people’s life labelled “for pleasure, “ or “devoid of stress,” or “Just because I want to.” Therefore saying the words…”For next week I need you to…” brings on a little bit of guilt…not with Connections as I believe with that project by saying you’re going to do it you sign yourself over to accommodating my every directorial demand and not with the Black Company as I believe that joining what amounts to the top strata of a 200 people strong youth theatre involves taking on a certain amount of responsibility but yeah…with all the rest of our work there is a definite twinge of guilt amalgamated with my demands. However this week in rehearsals for our Christmas shows and also in the Miners project rehearsals I was reminded why asking for this extra time and effort doesn’t just work in my interests but in

A first time blog by Ed from the Gold company...I love it when people man up and write a blog for the first time... The first thing I have realised about blog writing is that you should never make eye-contact with Sarah if you weren’t planning on writing one. But anyway, since I have “volunteered”, I might as well have a crack at writing one so here goes; The thing I want to talk about first is just how professional everyone at Gold company is. I mean, we’ve had basically two weeks between this rehearsal and the last one, along with the fact that we are still trying to get the feel of the play, within two, maybe three minutes the scenes are as good as they were two weeks ago. And, because Sarah was being a self-confessed “finicky” director today, all the scenes got a lot better, really fast. One thing that I think doesn’t get mentioned enough, which is an absolute crime, is the way that the background music affects the mood and feel of a scene. For example, Katie’s phone conversation/m

Danny Southern with what is becoming a bit of a regular blog spot... Sapphire Group deserve better than some run-of-the-mill blog this week. So, i awoke the deep person inside me and expressed what happened in a Poetica fashion... So, here goes... The Monday nights at Yew Tree Never seem to drag They always seem to fly right by With peeps like Laura 'Staggsy' Staggs And what happened on the fourth Was something different and new A magical appearance of an oncoming storm With a drenched Constancia in view The storm had taken hold With a princess dazed and confused Not knowing where to turn Her spirit tainted and badly bruised A rush of bodies, a thunderous crack As the rain did metaphorically descend With Olena pushed towards the centre Whilst the Prince still had no girlfriend The Prince had taken trials Had taken the time to find A Princess he could call his own And wasn't deluded in their mind Jordan delivered her lines with perfection In her tone, the wickedness was rife

All the youth theatre directors of Yew Tree spent three days in Darlington this week at the National Association of Youth Theatre’s professional development event, “Raising the Game.” It’s the strangest thing to attend in some ways…imagine 80 youth theatre directors in the same room…no really imagine it for a moment… yeah…scary isn’t it… So what did we come away with? Well Gemma and Danny would really need to answer that for themselves but I came away with some really good new games…some new physical theatre techniques…black company you’re going to love them…some food for thought and questions to ask myself about our practice as a company and myself as a practitioner… Mainly however I came away with a marvelous certainty that Yew Tree Youth Theatre is something very special…so many of the things that very seasoned and experienced theatrical professionals were teaching we either have covered or are well on the way to having covered…we’re not afraid to challenge ourselves, we’re consta

Danny Southern enjoyed writing last weeks so much (and we enjoyed reading it) so he's written another...huzzah for that... Soo… what happened on Monday? Let’s see… Well I can pretty confidently say that we’re defo amazing at act 1 (well, we are professionals after all). And we’ve all got to admit that we’re all little soldiers fighting in a war between drama and actual death-defying acts – Laura “Staggsy” Staggs has once again managed to wheedle her way into this weeks blog due to her ‘accidental’ foot…erm…accident. Amidst the pain we suffer for our art, the session was slick and smooth just like my hair after using Head and Shoulders. Kate (not the witchety hag one… well… no I’ll leave it at that) was awesome at playing Lizzie and fitting in with the narrator’s crew – and has managed to remember some of her epic monologue. What. A. Leg. The Princesses were, to put it in a Sharon Osbourne fashion – FABULOUS DARLING. Their characters just seem to bring the whole stage alive with the

The 200th Yew Tree Youth Theatre blog is written by Bobbie long standing member of the Green Company who meet in Pontefract every Wednesday night...following in Aaron Wiltshire's footsteps with the second Green Company blog ever... Hey :) I'm Bobbie, from the Green Company … basically Danny and Alice told me to write about the session at Yew Tree this week so that's what I’ll do... So … we've been concentrating on the physical theatre side of drama at the moment which is, honestly, pretty cool as it's totally different to what we're used to. It's a nice change. It also made us focus too .. and the results of that really show. What we did at the last session was kind of strange … but in a good way! I don't really know how to phrase it, but here goes anyway. Danny put us into groups and I was with, Sarah (Day) and Aaron (Wiltshire) and we basically had to control the other person by moving a part of there body and make a performance out of that. I really h

Thanks to Ellie Moran for this offering...her blogs are always worth a read... So, I'm on a smaller computer, I'm on an old version of word. And I'm practically asleep. Despite all this i'm still one hundred percent ready to write a blog. :) It's one thing, watching a play and performing in a play, it's another thing going through the process of creating a play. You can start off acting out somebody's script, somebody's creation even though you could never know their full intention of how they saw it happening. I can only imagine that it is not easy for a script writer to always accept easily how other people want to interpret the character they have been set. When doing a play and learning a script, there are times when I feel ok about how I come across as that character, but there are other times where i can feel utterly dissapointed at what I have done that day. I don't know if it's bravery, confidence, or feeling generally low on that day an

This week has been utterly dominated by Yew Tree Youth Theatre…in that my usual youth theatre days are Monday, Thursday and Saturday – with a few sessions for the dancers of Sarah Thomas’s thrown in for good measure of a Friday…this week as Gemma was on holiday I was at youth theatre Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday…with a few sessions for the dancers of Sarah Thomas’s thrown in for good measure of a Friday… So here come some highlights… Sunday – the most resilient cast IN. THE. WORLD performed in stupidly cold temperatures and rain…but I mentioned them in last weeks blog… Monday – The amount of laughter that the Sapphire Company create is magic…the princesses are brilliantly absurd and ridiculous…I do worry about both me and the company…what kind of minds invent such nonsense…and thank goodness for Dee this week...she manned up in good style for which I am massively grateful Tuesday – Ah Ruby Company…a lovely combination of mayhem and marvelousness… their cook