The summer season - with
something for every age - gets underway at SYT
Drama
enthusiasts from across Scotland descended on The Old Sheriff Court (Scottish
Youth Theatre h.q) this week to begin intensive rehearsals for the annual
Summer Festival. The five week Performance and Production course will see
participants rehearse six days a week for up to twelve hours, take part in
master classes led by industry professionals and perform in large scale
productions open to public audiences.
After
focussing on all things horror last year, Summer Festival 2012 will this year focus
on all things Shakespeare whilst incorporating dynamic and contemporary twists
to the bard’s classical works.
“2012 is the
World Festival of Shakespeare so we wanted to acknowledge this and at the same
time put a unique spin on things” says SYT Artistic Director Mary McCluskey.
The main
house productions this year include Twelfth Night at the Tron Theatre Glasgow;
A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Fringe at the Royal Botanic Garden
Edinburgh and a devised production ‘An Eye For An Eye’, based on the blood bath
that is Titus Andronicus, at the Brian Cox Studio at Scottish Youth Theatre.
This year’s
Festival sees the inclusion of the new Performance and Production Learning
Programme, a six week course that boasts SQA and SCQF accreditation.
Fraser
MacLeod, Associate Artistic Director explains why this is such a significant
move for the organisation: “This is a major step forward for Scottish Youth Theatre.
The work we deliver has been officially recognised as offering educational
merit and the young people that take part in the course will now, on
completion, have a tangible qualification to show for it”.
During the
summer months when everyone else normally take the opportunity to relax and
wind down, Scotland’s national theatre ‘for&by’ young people are at their
busiest. Just last week, SYT Productions (SYT’s in-house performance group)
toured new play ‘The Weegie Board – A West Of Scotland Ghost Story’ to London
as part of the Cultural Olympiad. The spine chilling tale about a group of friends
meddling in the occult went down a storm with teenagers.
The other
end of the age spectrum is also well catered for with SYT’s hugely popular
Family Storytime sessions going out on tour around shopping malls in Scotland
in conjunction with the Daily Record’s ‘Big Read’ tour. These interactive story
telling sessions are tailored for 3-7’s and the whole family, encouraging
audiences to get involved, bring their imaginations and become part of the
story.
“When the
Daily Record approached us to be involved in the Big Read, we couldn’t turn it
down, it was just a perfect match” comments Associate Director for Early Years
Karen McGrady-Parker. “The first weekend in Stirling was a huge success with
audiences at the Thistle Centre and we’ll be out on tour at shopping centres
around Scotland for the next month so there’s plenty of opportunity for
families to catch a performance”.
