romsey
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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 10 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
Romsey Youth Theatre is a member of the National Association of Youth Theatres.
Latest News for Members
The Time
Traveller
Well
done everyone involved with this project that we presented at ‘The Lights
Theatre’ in Andover on Saturday 15th March.
Easter
2008.
There
will be no workshop on Easter Saturday 22nd March but we will be
back for one week only on Saturday 29th March. Then it is school
holidays so there will be no workshops on 5th or 12th
April. Normal workshops start again on Saturday 19th April 2008.
Last revised: March 2008