National Festival of Youth Theatre 2017 Event Programme

NATIONAL FESTIVAL OF YOUTH THEATRE Event Programme

7–9 July 2017 The Gaiety and Rozelle Park, Ayr Patron: Sam Heughan

WELCOME Welcome to Scotland’s National Festival of Youth Theatre (NFYT).

NFYT is a celebration of the transformative power of youth theatre arts and is the largest gathering of youth theatre groups anywhere in the UK. Following eight years in Fife, this unique and lifechanging event has now landed in Ayr for the first time and is ready to bring the town alive in an explosion of young creative talent.

Festival participants come from all across Scotland and further afield to share their passion for theatre. With an emphasis on inclusion, education and collaboration, NFYT provides extraordinary new experiences and offers them all the chance to develop as theatre-makers, audiences and creative thinkers.

Participating in this year’s festival are: Aberdeen Performing Arts Youth Theatre Centrestage Music Theatre Cumbernauld Youth Theatre East Ayrshire Youth Theatre East Lothian Youth Theatre Falkirk Youth Theatre Firefly Arts Gaiety Young Company Largs Youth Theatre Rowland’s Drama Group Ryan Youth Theatre SOPA Youth Theatre Company The Regal Youth Company Tron YT Seniors

Join us at the Gaiety theatre all weekend for a programme of inspiring performances and follow the action at: YTArtsScot

#NFYT

Event Funders and Partners

Youth Theatre Arts Scotland is a Company limited by Guarantee No SC 269952. Registered Scottish Charity No SC 035765

NFYT is not just about watching shows.

For all participating youth theatre groups it’s also about coming together, learning new skills, taking risks and discovering why making and performing theatre matters.

Featuring a series of creative workshops including puppetry, spoken word, and technical theatre - you can expect to see some wild and wonderful things happening in and around the Gaiety Theatre all weekend!

Friday 7 JULY

Event Programme

Hide & Seek 16.45 - 18.00 Main Auditorium Gaiety Young Company thegaiety.co.uk/gaiety-act-out Directed by Daniel Livingston.

Devised by Gaiety Young Company Go sing, too loud Go scream.

Make your voice break - sing it out Go drum, go proud Make an earthquake Make your hands ache - play it out Tie strings to clouds We should always know that we can do everything

Box Office: ayrgaiety.co.uk or 01292 288235

A show that explores games, fun, mischief, youthful adventures, darkness, nostalgia and building dens. In the words of George Bernard Shaw – ‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.’

Tickets:

14+

Box Office

Per show: £6.50 (conc. £4.50) Day Pass: £9.50 Family of Five: £16.50

Made in Ayrshire 19.15 - 20.15 Main Auditorium Made in Ayrshire Largs Youth Theatre: www.argsyouththeatre.moonfruit.com/ East Ayrshire Youth Theatre: www.facebook.com/ EastAyrshireYouthTheatre Ayrshire Film Company: www.ayrshirefilmco.org/ Enjoy homegrown performances from Largs Youth Theatre, East Ayrshire Youth Theatre and short films made by young people in Ardrossan as part of the Guerilla Cinema project.

14+

20.15 - 21.30 Main Auditorium Centrestage Music Theatre www.centrestagemusictheatre.co.uk Director and Choreographer - Marlisa Ross Our contemporary adaptation of William Golding’s classic story takes place in 2014 following the spread of the deadly malum virus throughout the UK. The action is transferred to a deserted school in the south of England, where a group of 14 pupils find themselves trapped and abandoned in the midst of this zombie apocalypse. With no adults around, they make their own rules and create their own civilisation before order breaks down and the story builds to an electrifying climax.

This is a tale of fear, violence and betrayal.

12+. There are some scenes of a violent nature. Includes strobe lighting.

SATURDAY 8 JULY

Friday 7 JULY

Lord of the Flies

Unconscious 13.45 - 14.45 Main Auditorium East Lothian Youth Theatre http://bit.ly/2udEprA Written and Directed by Charles Hindley in collaboration with the young people of East Lothian Youth Theatre.

“You need to take this more seriously, Oscar!” But try as he may, this is one occasion when Oscar may struggle to scratch out his failings.

Academic he may be, but a convincing actor - he is not. All is not lost though, Leo has a plan. Temptation, risk, danger and an opportune moment. It’s time to witness what dreams are made of. This is what it’s like when Queen Mab herself comes to play, all we can do is watch.

14+. Strong language and scenes of recreational drug use.

Buckle Up 16.45 - 17.30 Main Auditorium Firefly Arts www.firefly-arts.co.uk Writers: Firefly Young Writers, mentored by Ellie Stewart Dramaturg: Ellie Stewart Director: Laura Stephen There are suitcases towering beside me, trapping me against the door.

The door opens and I’m outside. The sun is warm on my skin and I keep walking.

20.30 - 21.45 Main Auditorium SOPA Youth Company www.performingartsmalta.com Directed by Lorraine Aquilina, written and devised by members of the company Shakespeare’s Fairies are back. In fact they never went away. They clean up the mess mortals make and do their best to look after the environment. But everything is spinning out of control - man is reckless and the world is coming apart at the seams. A vengeful act could have dire consequences for mankind. Oberon is the only one who can fix things and he seems to have deserted his loyal troops. Can they find him before it’s too late? And even if they do, will he be able to save the day?

8+. Strobe lighting.

SUNDAY 9 JULY

SATURDAY 8 JULY

What a Piece of Work is Man

404 11.00 - 12.15 Main Auditorium The Regal Youth Company www.rycbathgate.com Directed by Nichole Cook, written by Laura Firth MILLENNIALS –what a stereotype: lazy, entitled, selfie-taking narcissists.

The worst generation yet. The generation that we blame for problems in society. Through text, movement and multimedia, 404 looks at this stereotype from a new angle and challenges it in every way. We are more than a generation of selfie-takers, we are a generation of accepting change.

12+.

Small Talk 15.15 - 16.30 Main Auditorium Cumbernauld Youth Theatre www.cumbernauldtheatre.co.uk Written by Amy Angus Conversation makes the world go round! Or so they say. Words. Just words.

We’ve been told that the value of conversation, along with romance and trust has been lost by the younger generation, which was pretty careless of us to misplace. But surely with 20,000 words a day coming out of our mouths not all of them are empty?

Using movement and direct address storytelling Cumbernauld Youth Theatre expolre the art of conversation!

12+

SUNDAY 9 JULY

The Incredible Adam Spark 19.30 - 20.30 Main Auditorium Falkirk Youth Theatre http://bit.ly/2shBP28 Written by Alan Bissett. Directed by Lawrence Crawford Eighteen going on eight-and-a-half and last in the queue for luck. On waking from an accident in which he saves a child, Adam Spark has the distinct impression that all is far from right. What are these curious lights that seem to surround people? Why are animals and machines trying to speak to him?

And can he really control time? Is it just his imagination, or has Adam Spark been chosen to become Scotland’s first, and only, superhero?

12+, or those at a younger age with supervision. Contains adult themes (violence, racism and sexuality).

The National Festival of Youth Theatre is annually produced by Youth Theatre Arts Scotland, the national development organisation for youth theatre.

Our mission is to transform lives through youth theatre by developing inspiring participatory opportunities for young people in Scotland, and by connecting, supporting and training the professionals who work with them.

We support a membership of more than 100 youth theatre organisations and freelance practitioners who engage around 23,000 young people in theatre activity across the country every week.

To find out more about our work and how to get involved with youth theatre, please visit ytas.org.uk.

YTArtsScot

#NFYT

PATRONS OF THE ARTS In June we raised over £20,000 on Kickstarter to make this inspiring event happen. Our donors’ generous support has allowed hundreds of young people the opportunity to take part in an extraordinary experience which will truly set them up for life. Thank you.

Alexa Gleason Allison Berg Cathi Hodil Colin White Debbie Montgomery Debra O’Neal Dr. Karel Alexander James Bouse Jayme Hettinger Karen Kennedy Kate Taylor Kimberly L. Zachary Mandy Reid Nancy Christian Nick Zekulin Pirkko Lindström Rebecca Gerber Rishaad Ait El Moudden Rosalba Franchi Wendy Dowson

ytas.org.uk