News

NEWS FROM OUR NEW CHAIRPERSON JANET PARKER:

A warm welcome to the first newsletter of the 2009/10 session. I’d like to extend an especially warm welcome to our new students and their families.

This is also my first newsletter in my new role as Chair of Largs Youth Theatre. I’d like to thank James Kelly, my predecessor, for his fantastic contribution to the development of LYT over the last two years. We really have flourished as an organisation, particularly in the last year. Notable highlights for me included:-

•seeing our senior students tread the boards so confidently at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh through our involvement in the National Theatre New Connections project

•the success of our students of all ages in their Trinity Guildhall exams

•taking three buses full of young people to see “Mary Poppins” at the Edinburgh Playhouse

•the phenomenal success of our fundraiser “Largs Has Got Talent” – and seeing two of our students in the final three acts

•the development of our senior students’ “company within a company” – May Contain Nuts

•seeing some our older students progressing into volunteers’ roles and working with our younger students

We hope that this year will be just as successful and that this monthly newsletter will become a regular feature of LYT life.

AGM

The AGM took place on September 24th. The office bearers for this year are as follows:-

ChairJanet Parker (686763)

Vice Chair Currently vacant

SecretaryMorag White (minutes)

Sheila Kirk (bookings)

TreasurerJohann McIntyre (672095)

RegistrarJohann McIntyre

PublicityRyan Moir

We are also delighted to welcome Emily Rowan, one of our older students and volunteers, to the role of Student Liaison Rep.

We now have over 180 students, aged 3 – 19, enrolled for this term, which ends on November 26th. Please note, there are no classes or panto rehearsals on October 14th/15th due to the school holidays.

 

Staffing

I’m pleased to say that our brilliant artistic team stays the same this year:-

Senior Tutors:Andrew McGregor

Marianne Yeomans

Assistant Tutor:Ryan Moir

Support assistants: Anne Dowds

Elaine Taylor

Volunteers:Elizabeth Parker, Emily Rowan, Megan Yeomans, Katy Johnstone and Jenna Kirk

Largs Has Got Talent

As I mentioned earlier, this was an absolutely amazing fundraiser for the Youth Theatre – and what a night! The roof nearly lifted off the roof of the Barrfields Theatre on more than one occasion. Our judges – Michelle McManus, Tom Urie and Drew Cochrane - were so impressed by the calibre of the 13 acts that made the final (over 60 auditioned). Mhairi Miller was a worthy winner with her spellbinding rendition of “Travelling Soldier” and we also had the added treat of an unscheduled performance of “Poker Face” from Michelle McManus. Nearly £2,300 was raised for our funds and we’d like to thank everyone who gave so willingly of their time to support this effort, including Calum McVittie our host for the night. We’re already planning an even bigger, better event for next year, so watch this space!

Largs Has Got Talent DVDs and T shirts

DVDs of this year’s show will shortly be available for purchase, priced £10 each. Check www.largshastalent.co.uk for details. A video of some of the great acts that came along to audition is now on You Tube, just search on “Largs Has Got Talent auditions”.

We also still have Largs Has Got Talent T shirts for sale in all sizes. A bargain at £5 each – why not get one and wear it along to class? If you’d like to buy one, please call Johann on 672095 or drop us an email at info@largsyouththeatre.org

Panto

Rehearsals for Snow White in The Man with the Golden Wand are now well underway. For the first time, this is a joint venture with Largs Players who have historically put on a panto every year. Our students from P1 – S2 will be providing the chorus.

The show will reveal exactly what happens to Snow White after the end of the traditional fairy story. What happens when she awakens from her slumber? Will she ever get the handsome Prince down the aisle? Will the dwarves be able to deal with their rejection issues and live alone? And will the Prince be destined to spend the rest of his life as fluffy pink pig? All these questions (and more that we haven’t even thought of yet) will be answered through a mix of energetic musical numbers and side splitting(!) comedy.

There will be three performances of the panto:-

Friday, November 27th (evening)

Saturday, November 28th (afternoon & evening)

Tickets are priced at £10 for adults, £7 for concessions. A family ticket is also available at £30 (2 adults plus 2 children). A booking form is hopefully attached to this newsletter (if we’ve had it back from the printers in time). If not, it will be given out next week and can be sent back in to class with ticket money. Alternatively, please call Johann on 672095. Tickets will sell fast though, so please spread the word and get your order in as soon as possible.

Rehearsal schedule

Rehearsals are currently taking place in class and children should be learning the words to their songs! It would be really appreciated if parents of younger children could try and take some time to go over the words with their children.

From the beginning of November, we shall be holding Sunday rehearsals for all cast members. These will take place on November 1st, 8th and 15th from 2.00-4.00pm in the theatre. All students should do their very best to attend. We have a large cast (140) and it’s critical that students are confident about what they’re doing – and when – during the show.

There will be a full dress rehearsal on the evening of Thursday, November 26th in the theatre – more details to follow in next month’s newsletter. All students must attend this rehearsal if they are to take part in the show. If you know that your child will be unavailable for any of the show dates or the dress rehearsal, please let their tutors know now so that we can plan accordingly. If we do not hear to the contrary, we will assume that they will be taking part in all three shows.

Costumes

Given the number of students and the limited dressing room space, we’ve decided to keep costumes as simple as possible. Hopefully, they can all be sourced from your child’s wardrobe, but if there are any problems, please let one of the tutors know. Costume requirements are:-

P1/2Red T shirt, jeans, trainers

P3/4Light blue T shirt, jeans, trainers

P5/7 (Tues)Costume 1: Yellow T shirt, jeans, trainers

Costume 2: Black long sleeved top, black gloves, black gloves, black shoes(sandshoes, trainers or similar)

P5/7 (Wed)Costume 1: Yellow T shirt, jeans, trainers

Costume 2: Holiday outfit eg. Hawaiian shirt, T shirt & shorts, sunglasses etc, trainers

S1/2Costume 1: Green T shirt, jeans, trainers

Costume 2:Holiday outfit eg. Hawaiian shirt, T shirt & shorts, sunglasses etc, trainers

Costume 3: “Disco” gear and trainers

For P5/7 classes upwards, please try to keep outfits fairly simple as space in the dressing rooms will be tight. Trainers should not have flashing lights as these are distracting on stage. We will be using water based facepaint for make up and will assume that we have parental permission to do so, unless we are advised otherwise.

It would be helpful if students could have their costumes prepared for the first week in November. They will be told when they need to bring them in to class.

May Contain Nuts

Our senior students are working on a series of short plays under the theme of “Flashbacks”. They will be taking responsibility for all aspects of the production – scriptwriting, casting, direction, finance, marketing etc. The idea is to let them experience all aspects of putting on a play, not just the acting side of things. The plays will be performed twice next March – once in Largs and once in Greenock, building on our relationship with the young people who attend Greenock Youth Theatre. More details in due course….

Music Box

Music Box is our class for pre-school children aged 3-5. The classes are held on Tuesdays in the Vikingar classroom at 3.30pm and consist of drama and music based activities which help pre-school children create and develop their own stories; share ideas; think creatively and independently; practise listening and talking with a purpose; develop motor skills through movement and dance and craft activities while building confidence and self esteem in a friendly setting using rhythm and rhyme. This in turn encourages the child to become aware of their own and others’ space and develops their communication skills. The child learns to interact with the tutors and with other children. Classes are run by experienced music, drama and early education practitioners. We currently have 11 children in the class, which means that we currently have space for one more. Please contact Johann on 672095 for further details.

Sponsorship

In the current climate, the arts has been one of the first areas to experiences cuts in funding, which means that we, as a Youth Theatre, are going to have to work harder to pull in the additional grants etc. that allow us to cover costs over and above day to day running expenses. If any parents or other family work for companies or organisations that offer sponsorship schemes for community groups, please let us know.

Health & Safety

This, along with child protection, is something we take very seriously. Please note that all primary school aged children must be brought to the door of their class by an adult. If they are early, an adult must remain with them until they can get in to their class. They must also be collected from their class by an adult

Pastures New

The website would like to thank Jonathan White and Colleen Garrett as embark on their studies. Jonathan and Colleen have both been superb volunteer tutors and we wish them every success in their new places - with Jonathan off to study Community Drama at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and Colleen off to study Drama and Performance at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh.

Priority Booking Forms

We are now approaching the end of this term and looking forward to a summer break. You will already have been given Priority Booking forms for next term starting after the holidays. As you are aware there is a high demand for places, and return of these forms ensures a place for next term. To ensure fairness, only one form is issued per child and was distributed personally. Please be careful not to misplace it. Any unallocated places will be first offered to those already on the waiting list, and then as a first come first served basis at our open registration day on 19th August. You can return your forms with appropriate payment at next week’s classes or in any case no later than 2nd August. Please note that registration forms need to be completed every year to ensure that we have the most up to date information regarding the children. These should be returned with the priority booking.

Next term will start on Tues 25th and Wed 26th August

Enrollment Evening

The enrolment evening for potential new members will be at 7pm on the 19th August in the classroom in the Vikingar. Please pass on this information to anyone you think might be interested in joining the Youth Theatre. These details will also be published in the local paper. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Summer Workshop

 

As usual, we will be running a Summer Workshop open to all school-age children. This will take the form of the children devising their own production (either a play or a film) and staging it at the end of the week. Places are open to both existing and potential new members. This will take place on from the 10th to the 14th August in the St Mary's Churh Hall. Cost will be £30 per child and will run between 10-12 in the morning for primary age and 12:30 to 14:30 for secondary age children. Contact Marianne on 01475 522839 to reserve a place.

Largs Youth Theatre present Blackout

Part of National Theatre's New Connections

For the last three months, a group of teenage actors from local theatre group, Largs Youth Theatre, have been rehearsing a new play as part of the National Theatre’s New Connections programme.

New Connections is produced by the National Theatre Discover programme and supported by the Bank of America. Each year new plays are commissioned for and about young people from some of the best contemporary playwrights, for performance by schools and youth theatres from all over the UK and Ireland, making New Connections one of the world’s largest celebrations of youth theatre.

The Largs students are performing “Blackout” a short play by Glasgow based writer/director Davey Anderson. A hard hitting work set in the East End of Glasgow, it’s about “getting bullied, fighting back, trying to make a name for yourself, turning vicious, doing something stupid, losing everything, then finding your way again”.

As part of the Connections programme, the group’s two directors, Andrew McGregor and Marianne Yeomans, attended a Directors’ weekend organised by the National Theatre. This gave them the opportunity to work with other directors, attend a number of masterclasses and meet with Davey Anderson, the writer. Since then, they have been working hard with the cast and crew on developing the production for its Largs “home” performance on April 8th at Barrfields Theatre.

This performance will be attended by Richard Twyman, the New Connections director assigned to work with the Largs group. He was recently involved in the Olivier Award winning RSC productions of Shakespeare’s “Histories” in both Stratford and London, most recently directing Henry IV Part II. He has worked with actors as notable as Sir Antony Sher. Richard will direct a workshop for the cast and directors prior to the performance and will then host a Q&A session afterwards.

Following the Largs performance, the group will travel to Edinburgh in early June to take part in the New Connections Regional Festival. They will again be performing the play, but this time at the Royal Lyceum Theatre on June 9th.

The Largs perfomance will take place at Barrfields Theatre on Wednesday, April 8th at 7.30pm. There is an open invitation to come along to watch the play – it’s only half an hour long. Admission is free (no ticket required), but please be aware that some of the content is quite adult (language and sexual references). It’s therefore not recommended for primary age children and older under 15s will only be admitted with an accompanying adult.

For further details, please contact Janet Parker on 686763.

EXAM RESULTS

EXAM SUCCESS FOR LARGS YOUTH THEATRE STUDENTS

Around 200 young people aged 5–19 who attend Largs Youth Theatre have achieved great success in their first entrance into Trinity Guildhall performance and drama exams. This is the first time that the Youth Theatre has put its students forward for professional assessment, and the results were excellent for all groups. Every group from Grade 2 upwards achieved either a Merit or a Distinction. Additionally, the younger students all achieved their Silver Young Performer’s Certificate.

The results were:-

Under 7s (up to 10 children per group) - Silver Young Performer’s Certificate for the following performances:-

The Little Pigs

Commotion in the Ocean

Puff the Dragon

The Owls.

Grade 2 Performance Arts (groups) – up to 10 students per group

Mrs Butler- Distinction

The Lions - Distinction

The Wild Things - Distinction

Our

Rumble in the Jungle - Merit

Grade 3 Group Drama (devised) – up to 10 students per group

The Human Tree - Distinction

Worst Best Friends - Distinction

The Babysitters - Merit

Painting above the Fire - Merit

The Alien - Merit

The Gatekeeper - Merit

Grade 4 Group Drama (devised) – up to 10 students per group

Under the Earth - Distinction

The Soul Gatherers - Distinction

The Invisible Friend - Distinction

Grade 5 Performance Arts (groups) – 20 students

The Choir – Distinction

Grade 7 Performance In Production (groups) – 17 students

Building A Star - Merit

Spokesperson for Largs Youth Theatre, Janet Parker, commented “this is a fantastic achievement by our young people who have all worked really hard for many months preparing for their examinations. They did themselves proud on the day and obviously impressed the examiner. Great credit should also be taken by our tutors Andrew McGregor, Marianne Yeomans, Ryan Moir and their support team of assistants and volunteers, especially some of the older students who have taken time out to work with the younger students on their performances. It really was a group effort with a great outcome"

ROTARY CLUB

Our senior tutor Andrew McGregor was recently invited to talk about the Largs Youth Theatre at a local Rotary meeting. We'd like to thank the Rotary for donating £200 towards the Youth Theatre fund.