FOUR SHIRES v THEATRE
actors
IN THE MAKING at The Mill Youth Theatre, Banbury
‘My daughter has been participating in the Mill theatre group since she was five and it remains the highlight of her week.’
That young lady is now ten and her mum’s comment is typical of many received by The Mill Youth Theatre, much to their delight! Clearly their aim to provide a welcoming, fun, stimulating introduction to the world of theatre is succeeding!
At present The Mill Youth Theatre provides classes for all ages from 5 through to adults, split between the Minis, three Junior companies, the Inters, the Scripts group and the Senior Youth Theatre. In the Minis the children focus on drama games and basic skills but all the other companies aim to perform twice a year in the Mill Theatre and more if they get the opportunity. The Senior Youth Theatre has taken productions to demanding venues such as Broughton Castle, whilst the Inters have been invited to perform at such varied events as a street party and the Mill’s Halloween Ball!
For the most part, the young people devise and produce their own work and have performed a huge range of material over recent years, ranging from re-workings of well-known stories such as ‘The Minotaur’ and ‘The Story of the Willow Pattern’, through challenging forum theatre plays such as ‘Ginger’ (which challenged the modern prejudice against those with ginger hair) to out and out farce such as ‘Hotel du Toilette’. It is wonderful to hear the young
people reminisce about their favourites. ‘Do you remember that bit in ‘The Egg of Eternity’ when…?’ ‘Do you think we could do a sequel to ‘The Blue Hand’?
There is a new group, the Scripts group, which works with pre-scripted drama but for the most part The Mill Youth Theatre is all about devising – about using the ideas of young people as much as possible to create fresh new theatre – albeit on a tight budget and within a short tight-frame. It is astonishing to see how well the company members respond to the discipline of having to produce a new play in just ten weeks of two hour classes. Time and again they meet the challenge brilliantly and are confident and thrilled to perform under the bright lights!
This is grass roots theatre. It’s not about agents and agency fees, modeling contracts and the X factor. This is about learning skills of team-work, co-operation, creativity, discipline, commitment and knowing when to push ahead with your own amazing idea and when to stand back and acknowledge that someone else has a better one – all with the common purpose of getting a show on the stage within the deadline.
Time and again, parents comment on the confidence they’ve seen grow in their children and their astonishment at the originality of the plays they see produced, which sometimes tackle such meaty subjects as child slavery, sweatshops, street children and crime and punishment, depending, of course, on the age and interests of the participants. Indeed, in 2008, The Mill Youth Theatre won a prestigious Impetus Award, awarded by The Institute for Global Ethics for their plays about the rights of the child. If that sounds too heavy, fear not – they do create light-hearted shows too and the classes wouldn’t be so popular if they weren’t great fun!
If you’re looking for a stimulating hobby for a son or daughter or know a budding thespian, then The Mill Youth Theatre is the place to go. Book as soon as you can. Members have protected places and there are usually only a few new places released. To book, or find out about classes, phone The Mill Box Office on 01295 279002.
MARCH 2012 v FOUR SHIRES 65
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