Crawley Youth Theatre showcasing for the youth of today

Every Thursday the Crawley Youth Theatre meet at Dormans to plan, act, perform and have as much fun as possible.

On arrival we got to see the youths in action. Playing team games, working together and enjoying every minute. The sessions are extremely productive. Talking of playing, the CYT have performed one, if not more if possible, successful live stage performances each year since starting in April 2005. Last year they performed Arabian Nights and a Terry Pratchett show. Led by Gemma LeGrand and volunteer Dodie Browne, the children have learnt to express themselves in a constructive and dramatic fashion while role playing or taking on various challenges.

It was the last session of the school term so there was lots of food and fizzy for the teenagers to enjoy. We spoke to some who told us they come along to make new friends and to display their drama skills. Some are drama students who wish to take it further, some just like attending.

The CYT runs in term times and anyone can go along to see if it is for them. The first session is free, so pop along to meet the members, they are a great bunch of teenagers. The sessions run from 18.30 till 19.30 for 13 to 16 years, then 19.45 till 21.15 for 16 plus. Gemma said “it doesn’t matter if you are at school, college or even in work, the sessions are for everyone. We cover all aspects of drama and put on at least one show each year which involves both the younger and older members”.

Gemma told us “we are very grateful to Kenny who runs Dormans. Kenny provides the space for free. Without this generousity we would not be able to afford the sessions. Each child pays £3.50 to attend, which goes towards the cost of the productions or any outings we may go on. We are also very privileged to have Dodie help out. Dodie comes all the way from out of town and volunteers her time to assist me with the older sessions here at Dormans, also producing the last play Arabian Nights”.

We were impressed with the relationship between Gemma, Dodie and the youths. Gemma told us about one member in particular called Tim who had come along when the CYT first started but is now preparing to go to University. Gemma felt they had been on a journey together and was sad to lose Tim from the group.

Dormans supports many activities including Rock Music Nights, Crawley Youth Activities Projects, A freestyle Club and the Friday Phab Club. More details can be found under leisure.

We would like to thank Gemma, Dodie, Kenny and all the members of the Crawley Youth Theatre for allowing us to come down to meet them. We enjoyed the cake and biscuits too

To contact Gemma please email gemma.legrand@crawley.gov.uk

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 16:37 and is filed under Community, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.