What's happening at YTYT

Yesterday was a treat as once again I got to see my “Brave and brilliant,”* actors perform at the Hepworth.   In the afternoon they were “ LivingBooks ,” quoting from the writings and conversations of sculptors to entertain and enlighten visitors to the gallery.   In the evening Brin and his Band of Everyday Heroes were well met for one last time…they were warmly complimented by many for being generally impressive and I was immensely proud of both casts, many of whom have juggled so many projects for YTYT recently and who were, as ever, absolute class acts. However today I got to do something completely different as I got chance to learn about something I have never tried before.   I spent my Sunday with some of Sapphire and the lovely Charlotte learning all things puppetry .   It was so nice to spend the day not having to manage a million variables, not being responsible for every element of the day.   It was also excellent to leave the workshop with new skills and ideas…but I t

And joyously Rob is the second Coming back to participate in Yew Tree’s 20 th anniversary was an utterly joyous experience. For those who didn’t come, I was lucky enough to present research outlining what academics think about Yew Tree. So, for those who couldn’t make it, I’ve converted my offerings into a blog. This allows me to tie-up a few lose ends, and maybe talk less about suicide, and other depressing stuff – you had to be there . Yew Tree impacts its members in many different ways. For some, the impact is obvious – it gets you into drama school. But for others, like myself, it is less obvious. I often find it hard to articulate how Yew Tree changed my life. That is why I turned to the study of education and learning. Because academia can begin to quantify the social impact of Yew Tree. Yew Tree falls into what academics term ‘extra-curricular activities’. These are engagements that take place outside of formal education settings. Social scientists have become surp

Jess Moore is our first guest blogger! Yew Tree turned 20 last weekend and we celebrated in the best way The Scratch evening was my favourite... remembering everything we have done over the years! Yew Tree will forever be my family and I genuinely wish i could re live it all exactly the same with all the same people! As well as looking back over my years at Yew Tree, the scratch evening showed us how many people yew tree has supported and influenced to be who/what they are today... and I definitely wouldn't be where I am today without it. Yew tree helps with confidence, self esteem, relationships and is always somewhere you can go to forget about everything else in life. I owe my yew tree family a lot and wouldn't change a single minute. I think I said it in the last blog I wrote, but if you're thinking about joining yew tree then do!! Everyone should have the opportunity to be part of the Yew Tree family... I may be too old for the youth theatre but I'm not going an

Earlier on in the summer I realised Yew Tree was 20 years old this September and I decided that, that was a thing worth celebrating…after some thinking, conversing with Oz and Gemma and weighing up the options I alighted on a four part extravaganza that I hoped would fit the bill…this weekend saw the realisation of this plan to glorious effect…the results of which I lay before you… Friday was our performance night included in the celebrations to showcase the exceptional standard of performance members of the youth theatre achieve.   To a packed house two casts performed two plays brilliantly and I was immensely proud to be associated with such excellent theatre.   Becky’s blog describes the performances from the an audiences point of view and all I need to add is how hard the actors worked to make them the top class theatre they were – graft, talent, heart and wisdom were all in plentiful supply and the result was something really special. Saturday we held a Scratch Event to

This hunk of gorgeousness in the form of a blog is from Ellie Moran! As always Yew Tree has always been a big part of my life. That will never change, it doesn’t matter how far away I go or how long I am away for (which evidently Is never long because I can’t stay away for very long ha) It will always be just the same upon my return; kind, warm welcomes from everybody, my old Yew Tree team that have been in my life a very long time. Yew Tree was 20 years old this week, which is massively imp ressive. On Saturday night we put on a display on with all costumes that had been used over the years, added with a timeline from 1995 to now. Tables were full of scrap books that people had made of all plays, scripts, newspaper clippings, writers material… memories of friendships made, Kendal trips, coach trips and so much more.   I have always known how much of my life has had Yew Tree in it, but looking back on it just confirms the amazing years I have had.   So many plays, so many

And here is Ellie B with a blog about our Birthday Open Mic Night Aargh! My first ever Yew Tree open mic night, and it was a joy! If you didn't attend then you most definitely missed out! So, there were so many performances from such talented people (I would have performed but I'm too chicken) some even performing on their first time too. So to kick off the night we had Tom and Grace singing Hold Back the River by James Bay and it was amazing, then to follow we had many other performers singing, playing guitar, piano, reading poems, after a good few songs there was a 'break' you know like one of those 'we're going to take a break from songs and do a quiz' type breaks, and there was a quiz, written by 4 of our Yew Tree members themselves, consisting of 30 questions mainly (there was one thrown in about Taylor Swift too) based around Yew Tree and the wonders that are Sarah and Gemma who run it. After another song or so, the winner of the quiz was announced

Becky is our first birthday guest blogger with a review of the Friday Night performances: What I like best about Yew Tree plays is that everyone has their time in the spotlight; be it with one line or twenty, you never see a person stood their with their only role as a tree, but if you did, I'm sure they'd be an excellent, talkative tree with something good to say. I went to see the Yew Tree Birthday celebration performances of "Mugged" and "Just a pretty face" on Friday night, and they certainly didn't disappoint. Firstly, "Just a pretty face" was such a unique performance. Not only did it tell a story - the tale behind every "Miss Wakefield" from the 1900s to present day - it was like a journey through history! Every costume was brilliant and every character played was equally great, no matter what their age. The music was well thought out and appropriate. The way the actors became the scenery was also hugely effective, alt

Right then team…last time for birthday info as by this time next week it will almost all be over and we’ll be basking in the warm glow of a lovely open mic night… So this is the score for next weekend (18 th , 19 th and 20 th of September ): Friday is our headline performance evening.   Members of the Youth Theatre have been rehearsing over the summer to bring you “Just a Pretty Face” a new work by Gemma Whelan performed by Crimson Company and “Mugged” performed by a mix of Black, Gold and Sapphire Company.   The commitment and talent of these performers is second to none, so if you are over 14 (the plays contain strong language) it’s a must see – Cathedral School at 7pm. Saturday is going to be very special as alumni of YTYT are returning to show us what they have been up to…I have been staggered at the generosity of performers who are travelling from all over the country to share with us their performances and stories – there will be stage fighting, solo performances, d

Emily Walton is our guest blogger Oh wow, I think the last time I've blogged was Kendal and that seems ages away so hello! It was back to Sapphire Company this week which means a read through of our Christmas play: The Princess and the Frog. It was great being back after summer, even though I saw a lot of them for Mugged rehearsals. Kicking it off in style we started with best and worst about our summer, then to play a few games before cracking on with (hopefully) a double read through. I'll warn you now, it is a true Sapphire piece filled with comedy and possibly a political remark for good measure. But to find all that out, you'll have to come see it! Then it was to Scarlet Company in which we have seen each other throughout summer as we're rehearsing for Yew Tree's 20th Birthday Celebration Scratch Event. For this, we are performing three physical theatre pieces. We performed one of them at Ossett Gala back in June called Red, another about your personal fears

This is the first time I have ever done anything like this so bare with me…It comes from having watched the fierce media traffic over the last days, weeks and months regarding Syria and those displaced by the horrific events there…it’s something that everyone has an opinion on and passions have certainly been inflamed… Too late…all too late I got tired of passively watching and decided I wanted to do something so I asked some of the cleverest heads I know what help would actually make a difference and after chatting I came up with a plan that I would like anyone who would like to, to help me with…so here it is… Week commencing the 14 th of October is Yew Tree Youth Theatre’s birthday week – if you want to give us a present you can give us one of two things (or both) pay an extra £1 for your session – this extra £1 will go to http://www.moas.eu   “ MOAS consists of international humanitarians, security professionals, medical staff, and experienced maritime officers who have c

Alice is our second guest blogger... So this week we were back at gold! As much as I've spent most of my summer with these wonderful people I did miss my Saturday morning at gold company. well no longer! We're back and we kicked off our Saturday morning in style - after we shared our enthusiasm for school starting again of course - with a rusty game of coconuts and a tense game of anialation (which I have no idea how to spell... Oh well). Then we delved straight into a read through of our Christmas production of the snow queen which was both interesting and amusing... *cough* Dec *cough* After reading through I'm feeling both excited and nervous.. and highlighting my script made me a little more nervous as it was looking brighter than my future. But I am very much looking forward to the challenge of devising it and getting it up on it's feet! I can't wait! Not only did I get to spend my Saturday with the wonderful gold company but also with the talented mugged c

Louis is the last of our farewell bloggers... So here I am, 9 months after joining Yew Tree, and ridiculously I have to say goodbye. It seems like such a short amount of time to me now, and pales in comparison to the years and years of time other people leaving have spent with the Youth Theatre, but I’m still sad that it’s over. When I turned up in January, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had just made the decision to change to a Theatre Studies course in a different university, and I wanted to get firstly some more acting experience and also to actually have something to look forward to in what would become my full time working week. What I found was a group of people that were likeminded, accepting and a whole bunch of fun to be with. Any of the hesitance and nerves I felt in my first session disappeared and quickly and abruptly as they arrived, and that is a testament to what the people of Yew Tree are like, it was so nice to be around genuinely good people. What’s more is no