1066 Youth Theatre

'The Dragon' Day four is finished and we NOW have a show together! We have completed the main structure of the piece - now just to rehearse smaller things like transitions. The way it’s been devised this week: incorporating everyone’s strengths, bringing acting, movement and music in, is incredible. It’s been so full on, using every minute of the day, creating and trying new things.  Completely and utterly exhausted but so extremely excited for the performance. Can’t wait for an audience to see our hard work!  This has been my first year doing YT and such an amazing experience. I've loved working with brilliant directors and having the chance to meet and work with such a talented cast!  Bring on the show x Ellie x

Cast photo Today was the second day of our week-long project, and for the first couple of hours we warmed up with some activities before we really got into the piece. Working together, we devised our own monologues that were personal, and came from a place that we all related to and understood, all to do with being our age, and living in our town.  With the play there is a choreographed dance that some people are doing, me included. The dance is all about resilience, and overcoming anxieties, so throughout the dance we did small naturalist movements, playing with our hair, pulling clothes, and fiddling with our hands, whilst others danced. The way that the acting and the dance came together showed how multi-talented all of the cast is. Dancing can communicate emotions and combining dance with naturalist acting can really express a message. As well as dance, some of the cast are preparing songs, and playing instruments, and each are gently mixed with drama and act...

Poster for 'Hollow' Today was the first day of our new Youth Theatre project, 'Hollow'. This piece is mainly a devised drama piece, meaning we create the scenes ourselves rather than use scripts. Before we started the hard work of creating the beginning, we played some drama games to allow the cast to become familiar with each other and build our bond ready for Friday's performance. In the morning we were given some lines to learn and we had to create actions to go with the lines. It was challenging because we weren't allowed to do obvious actions; we had to be open-minded! In the afternoon, some of us started our dance piece that will be part of the show. It was very fun creating a different style of dance that not many people are used to. This is my third year of participating in 1066 Youth Theatre and I can honestly say it's the highlight of my summer every year. The cast are like one big family and Niall and Barb (the directors) are always the...

Day 10; Our last day of normal rehearsals and we’re putting our best foot forward into the weekend ready to step into Monday’s technical rehearsal with our lines learnt, our scenes sharp, and a focused mind so we can smash through the week and feel confident in time for our first performance on Wednesday night. Today we broke down each play, identifying areas that needed work and finding ways to make pieces fit, before a full (although out of order) run through this afternoon. However, while we were not on stage we all got our own time to get to know our characters even more. I for example as Anne Bonny, a ruthless pirate, encounter many battles and fights which have been both thrilling and challenging to choreograph and consistently get right as I don’t only have to use just stage fighting but I also have multiple sword fights, all of which are different. This has stretched me out of my comfort zone both physically and mentally, as has the whole process which is one of the many reason...

As the rehearsal process draws to an end and we come closer to the opening show, everybody is still working tirelessly to ensure the show is of the highest quality. As somebody who has partaken in Youth Theatre for 3 years now, it is exciting and amazing to see younger actors really come into their own and show their fantastic acting skills. Many times I have been blown away, moved emotionally and belly laughed thanks to the cast of wonderful people. Not only has the acting and show come a long way from when we started nearly 2 weeks ago now, but the whole cast feels like one big family with the whole experience of the show being a fulfilling, but most importantly, an enjoyable one. The play that has been wonderfully written by the Whiteheads is a fantastic exploration through the sea and the different myths, stories and events that occur on and beneath the surface of the vast ocean. Even though everyone is completely shattered due to the intense schedule, the show has really come toge...

Day 8 of 1066 Youth Theatre has proved to be another fun yet challenging day; each play is almost finished now and it is starting to really come together. Only a week left until the shows, which is both equally terrifying and exciting. Each day has brought something different: we are constantly working, whether it’s by ourselves practicing lines with each other, going through fight scenes, dances or rehearsing on stage. This is my fifth, and last, year of doing 1066 Youth Theatre. It’s been incredibly fun making new friends and working with new actors, sharing ideas and doing as much as we can to make it as amazing as possible.  Today we tried a new piece of verbatim theatre called Doaa’s Story and we sat down and broke up the lines between us all. It’s an incredible story that we are very excited to tell and it feels like the perfect way to end not only the play, but my time in 1066 Youth Theatre. This has been such an incredible experience. It has become one of the most ...

Second day of the second week, and everyone’s well on the way to completing this wonderful show. As well as rehearsals on stage, we go off and learn our lines with friends, or work on a small bit for later. It’s really useful to have that time to figure your parts out, and help out others too. There’s a piece about a sea goddess, Sedna, showcasing a lot of people’s talents. The myth it is based on is the Canadian Inuit story of how the creatures of the sea came to be, so the dancers do quite abstract and flowing movements, choreographed thoughtfully by the dancers themselves. They are accompanied by musicians, providing music that fits perfectly with the mystical atmosphere of the story. It’s incredible to see so many talented people together and working alongside each other. I’m constantly amazed by everyone, and impressed with what we’ve managed to achieve. Along with members who had been in previous shows, new members have been blowing everyone away with their pure awesomen...