Ravenshead Youth Theatre Group

page last updated 02/10/2009

November 2009

October 2008

November 2008 sees the return of our popular Youth Theatre Group production at the village hall. This year we are offering an evening of two, contrasting, one-act comedies which highlight the talent that we have at youth level.

Gilly's Gem by Sandy Taylor.

Gilly is a well-travelled, wealthy business woman and her 'gem' is Millicent, her live-in cleaner. Millicent is a bit of a skiver on the quiet but proves amazingly resourceful when Gilly gets targeted by a con-man. This charming situation comedy is a great favourite at one-act play festivals but is usually performed by adults.

Play director, John Birch, (who also directed James & The Giant Peach) has been fortunate to cast five of our most talented youngsters who have enjoyed the challenge of portraying some of the subtleties of adult behaviour.

Ernie's Incredible Illucinations by Alan Ayckbourn.

This hilarious play is gradually building a reputation as a children's classic and has been widely performed by schools and youth theatre groups throughout the UK.

Ernie is a boy with an incredible imagination – everything he imagines becomes real, much to the consternation of his parents. They take Ernie to the doctors in search of a cure, but things don’t go exactly as planned. Secret agents, a boxing granny and mountaineering in the local library make this great fun for all ages.

Come along and support Youth Theatre in Ravenshead.

Performance nights are Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd November 2008. 7.30pm start at Ravenshead Village Hall. Tickets are all £4.50 each available from Godfrey’s or The Box Office.

May 2008

Stop Press - Double Win for Youth Theatre Talent.

Ravenshead Youth Theatre Group continue to enjoy success in the

12 years and under category at the annual NANDA Youth Theatre

Festival. Ellie Thomas picked up the award for Best Actress and Gethin

Williams was Best Actor at the event which was held on May 10th at

the Dukeries Complex, Ollerton.

Ellie and Gethin joined a large RYTG cast in The Spiriting Of Burd Ellen

a one-act, comedy fairytale about the abduction of Burd Ellen - King Arthur's daughter,

directed by Mandy Buckley.

Ellie played Burd Ellen's rescuer - her brother, Childe Rowland, and Gethin played a

Herdsman, one of the characters that Chide Rowland encounters on his way to rescue his sister.

RYTG's dominance of the under 12 category follows last year's Best Actress success

for Charlotte Kirk. Also receiving Highly Commended Certificates this year were

Jordan Rodger, Marisha Milek, who played Merlin, and Saachi Oza, who played the

Elven King.

November 2007

NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE VISIT

Members of the Youth Theatre Group recently visited Nottingham Playhouse Theatre for a special Backstage Tour to gain an insight into what goes on behind the scenes in a professional theatre. Before the tour began the youngsters had the opportunity to meet the principal actors from ‘Beast On The Moon’. Youseff Kerkour and Karine Bedrossian, who were preparing for the final performance of the Playhouse’s November production.

One of the highlights of the tour saw the group actually onstage on the set of ‘Beast On The Moon’ to get an actor’s eye-view, albeit of an empty auditorium. Our tour guide also explained the different configurations of stage and seating that could be employed and the effects that could be achieved with sound, lighting, revolving floors and trapdoors.

Backstage, most of the staff were busy preparing for this season’s pantomime, ‘Dick Whittington’. We saw some wonderful costumes in the wardrobe department, skeletons that will glow in the dark were being made in the props studio and in the large paintshop a team of painters were busy on a 40’ high backcloth that would eventually become King Rat’s cave.

Our Youth Group members had an intriguing glimpse into the workings of a professional theatre. They came away realising just how many people are involved backstage in bringing a production to life and that a career in theatre doesn’t have to involve acting.

Our thanks to Nottingham Playhouse for their hospitality and to Judy and Alan of the Village Bus for getting us there and back again on what was a fascinating and enjoyable afternoon.

October 2007 update

The Youth Theatre Group continues to go from strength to strength with a membership of 20+ and 10-15 members on the waiting list. We still meet each Tuesday, in term time, evening in St Peters Church Hall Ravenshead from 07:30 to 09:30pm. At each session the group members participate in workshops centred on different aspects of theatre and drama. These include learning skills and improvisation work. We also play games and have lots of fun.

Pantomime 2007

Some members of the Youth Theatre group were involved in the 2007 Pantomime; Sleeping Beauty. The members helped with building and painting the set, acting in the chorus and singing and dancing in the musical numbers. They proved to be a great asset.

NANDA 2007

For the second year running the Youth Theatre group entered the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Drama Association Youth one act play festival. It was again held at the Dukeries Theatre complex in Ollerton. We entered two plays, one was Star Dusters by Naomi Sinclair and the one was “What Theatre Really Is” by James Saunders. Never were there two more contrasting pieces. Star Dusters was a traditional comedy/farce set in a theatre; luckily for our set builders! It was about six cleaning ladies who decide one night to have a go at putting on a play themselves; with humorous results.

“What Theatre Really Is” was quite different; a form of a naked sketch about the very nature of “theatre” that had no set or props to speak of other than that which was developed by the members of the Youth Group themselves. Both pieces received positive comments from the adjudicator who particularly praised the group for their comic timing. We came away with two awards, a Highly Commendable Certificate for Fiona Hill and newcomer Charlotte Kirk won the Best Actress under 12 award. An enjoyable evening was had by all.

Onwards and upwards

The Youth group is currently looking at ideas for their NANDA entries for Spring 2008 and for a main show in November 2008. However before all of that they will all be involved in the main group’s Pantomime in January 2008, “Treasure Island”; so watch out for some particularly dastardly pirates. Yo Ho Ho and Bottle of Rum!

About the group

Ravenshead Theatre Group has long catered for the drama needs of young people. In September 2004 our group expanded to include a youth section with 25 members.

Whilst most teenagers were enjoying the long summer break away from school / homework, a small group of them were busy learning lines for the first Ravenshead Youth Theatre Group (RYTG) production.

The group was first established in October 2004 based at St Peters Church Hall in Ravenshead. Following an initial estimate of 10 – 15 potential members (with a limit set at 20) the group was overwhelmed when 25 local children asked to join. We are pleased to say that 9 months later we still have 25 members with 2 eager thespians waiting to join the group.

Ages range from 11(minimum) to 16 (maximum). On reaching 16 youth members can transfer to the main group. The group meets most Tuesdays at St Peters Church Hall 8-9.30pm. The group's activities include workshops, productions and games. The group is managed by its members and the activities are overseen by the Committee which includes youth group members. To date RYTG has been involved in the Village Hall Christmas event and the 2005 Ravenshead Theatre Group pantomime – ‘Dick Turpin’ and have performed their own production of I was a Teenage Jekyll and Hyde

For further information please contact Anne Marie Butler on 0115 9566376.

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Animal Magic

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the Tuesday night meetings of the Youth Theatre Group has to be improvisation. We, the organisers, create scenarios, characters and unfinished scripts, than the members split into teams and are given approximately 20 minutes to develop their ideas into short sketches. The results can be spectacular, imaginative, witty and demonstrate great teamwork and quick thinking.

Following the Nanda Festival in May, we ran a series of improvisation evenings taking a light-hearted look at the world of animals. This coincided with several requests to perform "Zartan" (one of our Nanda Festival entries) at the Village Hall. Being a Tarzan spoof, one-act play, "Zartan" also features animals. We could see a theme developing for our Autumn Production!

Over the summer "Animal Magic", an evening of one-act plays, songs and sketches, took shape and was rehearsed. Many of the sketches were original and were developed from our improvisation sessions. Alongside "Zartan" we had "A Dogs Life", a superb one-act play by Pam Valentine. We also threw in a dash of Disney favourites, a cut of a TV classic and a sprinkle of Creature Comforts. The perfect recipe for an entertaining evening.

We hope you were able to come and support the young dramatic talent of Ravenshead and have as much fun watching "Animal Magic" as we did putting it together for you.

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Youth Group at 2006 NANDA festival

On Friday 5th May, two teams from Ravenshead Youth Theatre Group performed in the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Drama Association (NANDA) One-act play festival for actors and actresses aged 19 or under.

This is an annual two-day event that highlights some of the best youth theatre work in the region and attracts teams from what could best be described as semi-professional theatres such as The Lace Market and The Robin Hood Theatre at Averham.

This two-day event took place on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th May at The Dukeries Theatre which forms part of The Dukeries Complex at Ollerton. Teams were invited to perform a One Act Play that is no longer than 45 minutes. and prestigious trophies can be won for Best Play, Best Actor etc. Entries are restricted to young people aged 19 and under at the time of the performance.

This was the first time that Ravenshead had entered a competition of this nature and something of a step into the unknown. Our adult organisers, directors and helpers were unsure of the standard we would have to achieve to compete with the other, more experienced teams. All of the other competitors had taken part in the festival in previous ears and most of them had actors aged 18 and 19 in their casts, whilst the Ravenshead group has an age restriction of 11 - 16 years and the average age of those attending the festival was 13 - 14.

Both Ravenshead teams acquitted themselves magnificently and certainly weren't intimidated by the opposition.

Richard Maddock was nominated for Best Actor for his role as Lord Greycoat in the Tarzan spoof 'Zartan' and received a Highly Commended Certificate. Hannah Newton also received a nomination and Highly Commended Certificate for Best Actress in the under 12s section, also for 'Zartan'.

THE PLAYS

Ravenshead Team 1 are presented "SUMMER VOCATION" by Kathy Mead. A gentle comedy about the seasons and the weather, in which Father Time has sacked last Summer because it was so dreadful. An interview panel is assembled to appoint a new Summer to the post.

Ravenshead Team 2 presented "Zartan" by Nick Warburton. A spoof comedy based on the Tarzan story in which a young child lands in the jungle. Unlike the 'real' Tarzan he is not brought up by the apes - but by an entirely different set of creatures!