romsey
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theatre
Contents
Background
History
Romsey Youth Theatre began as RAODS Junior Workshop in 1984. This was part of the Romsey Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society that owns and manages The Plaza Theatre at Romsey in Hampshire U.K. Thanks to the enthusiasm of Kay Read over the first few years, giving the group a firm foundation, we have been able to move from strength to strength since we took over in 1987. During the time of RAODS Junior Workshop many shows were performed at The Plaza, including:
Bugsy Malone – August 1989
Our Day Out – December 1991
The Future Has a Name (Again) – Inspired by events in
Eastern Europe in 1991 – Summer 1992
The group also performed fund raising shows for TVS
Telethon and Comic Relief
Romsey Youth Theatre Now
We
run regular workshops on Saturdays 10 a.m. - 12 noon at the Performing Arts
Centre, Romsey School, Priestlands, Romsey, Hampshire, U.K. (for a map click here)
To
download a poster click here
What Do We Do?
A typical
workshop begins with about 15-20 minutes of co-operative games, after which the
young people break into small groups to devise a short improvisation on a given
theme. For example the theme could
be: “A confined space”, so the young
people would look at situations such as:
a lift breaking down, confined in a tent etc. The improvisation is then performed to the rest of the group. Favourite ‘winding down’ games are:
Wink/Murder.
The ‘detective’ leaves the room.
Everyone else stands in a circle with eyes closed while the leader
chooses the ‘murderer’ by tapping someone on the shoulder. The ‘detective’ returns and everyone opens
their eyes. The ‘murderer’ kills the
victims with a wink and they must then ‘die’ as dramatically and noisily as
possible! The ‘detective’ has three
guesses.
Freeze. Two
people are chosen to start an improvisation.
They are placed in position and a theme is chosen. They must then ‘act out’ the situation. At any time someone can call out ‘Freeze’
and the action must stop. The caller
must then tap one of the ‘actors’ on the shoulder and take their place. They must then start a completely new
improvisation.
Both of these
games continue until we call a halt, otherwise we could be there for hours!
We also have a
keen interest in video and have regular video making workshops. Romsey Youth
Theatre has it’s own digital camcorder so we can shoot and edit our movies.
Although we have
performed a number of shows over the last 20 years, we are not first and
foremost a ‘performance’ group. Our aim
is to give young people a chance to express themselves, gain confidence and
learn to work co-operatively with others in a workshop situation. Most
important is to have fun.
We normally meet
in term time only.
We also invite
in visiting artists, for example:
Sam Pickles from Youth Clubs Hampshire & Isle of
Wight ran a circus skills workshop in January 2004
Josh Elwell ran a puppet show and workshop in February
2004.
Mbeke Chefunda
– ran a workshop using music, dance and singing from Tanzania
The Costume Designer’s Club – ran a workshop on making
Caribbean carnival costumes based on the Notting Hill Carnival
Traditional Arts Project (TAPS) – helped the group
write their own mummers play, which was performed at Romsey Beggars Fair
Street Dancing – this proved very popular with the 14+
group
Who can come to Romsey Youth Theatre?
The group is
open to any young person over 9 years. Currently we are not running our 14+
group but a number of older members attend on a Saturday morning.
Contact Information
Group Leaders – Dave and Pat Francis Tel: 01794 340609 Fax: 01794 340722
contact us at: romseyyt@btinternet.com
Past Projects
Play in a Day - written and performed in one day at
Mountbatten School, Romsey – September 1992
A Christmas Carol – performed
in United Reformed Church, Romsey – December 1996
All Fall Down – a video
mystery set in the Test Valley near Romsey – June 1997
Follow the Star – performed at
The Plaza Theatre, Romsey – December 1997 with RAODS
Is Romsey Rubbish – a 10
minute video about litter, or the lack of it, in Romsey – August 1998
Wastebusters – a 10
minute video about waste and recycling in Hampshire – August 1999
Our Day Out – performed at The
Lantern Theatre, Mountbatten School, Romsey – April 2001
Play in a Day – written and
performed in one day in United Reformed Church, Romsey – July 2002
What Goes Around Comes Around - A short video written,
directed and produced by Romsey Youth Theatre 14+ members - August 2003.
‘Thursday’s Child’. The Children’s
Rights musical written for UNICEF by
Greg Snape.
We
performed this show at the Plaza Theatre in Romsey as a
joint production with RAODS Juniors in August 2004.
‘Seven Ages’ - This show
performed for Romsey Arts Festival was a selection of poems, songs and sketches
loosely based on Shakespeare’s ‘Seven Ages of Man’. - 22nd July
2005.
‘The Time Traveller’ – An improvised play. Our contribution to Test Valley Borough Council’s project to bring together theatre groups from around the Borough – Directed by Forest Forge Theatre Company. – March 2008.
Christmas Revue 2008 – A selection of readings, poems and improvised
drama interspersed with popular Christmas carols – performed at the United
Reform Church, Romsey – 6th December 2008.
‘Dressed to Express’ - We worked with Forest Forge Theatre Company and the Southampton Media Workshop to create posters and a short improvised drama of fashion from the 1950’s to the present day. We were selected as one of four projects from the Southern Region to attend the National Find Your Talent Conference at the South Bank Centre in London on Friday 10th July 2009.
Romsey Youth Theatre is a member of the National Association of Youth Theatres.
Latest News for Members
‘A Christmas Carol’
We are currently rehearsing for our
forthcoming production based on Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’. We will be
performing this play at the United Reformed Church Romsey on Friday 4th
& Saturday 5th December 2009 at 7.30p.m. each evening. All
proceeds from the production will be donated to the local charity ‘Georges
Trust’.
Last revised: November 2009