The showcasing of Worcestershire's supreme Talent! 2023 SYT Summer Showcase
1 July 2023
Worcester Theatres has just finished its 2023 Summer term of Youth Theatre. The year came to an exciting end with the SYT Summer Showcase, three days of performances on the Swan Theatre main stage by their Youth Theatre groups. Young People, ranging from 5 – 16 years old, took to the stage to unveil their hard work and demonstrate their tremendous talents.
The Swan Youth Theatre has just over 100 Young students across 4 different groups, SYT Monday, SYT Pershore, SYT Wednesday and Relaxed SYT. Recently, the Swan Youth Theatre expanded their sessions and now hosts Home Education SYT as well. The groups are then split by age into Juniors, Intermediates and Seniors. The Swan Youth Theatre has young people coming from all over Worcestershire and Worcester Theatres’ aim is to create a safe space for students where their creativity is supported and encouraged. From Juniors through to Seniors, students are able to experience ensemble activities as well as the opportunity to hone their individual skills, skills that will aid them in all aspects of their life, from school to future career paths. SYT students work on a range of materials and styles including monologues, Shakespeare and physical theatre; and the SYT Summer Showcase was a chance for them to share all the skills they had developed throughout the year with their family and friends.
The SYT Summer Showcase had 11 different performances across the three days, some were written by tutors, some were professional scripts, and some were devised by the students themselves. Over the course of 11 weeks, students prepared diligently and their final performances covered a range of topics - a robot on his first day of school, crayons wanting to be a part of ‘The Big Picture’, teenagers forced into competing for survival in a twisted game of musical chairs and so much more, showing perfectly the breadth of their imagination and skill.
Aaron Corbett, Outreach and Participation Officer and Youth Tutor, said
“I’ve met hundreds of young people over my tenure at Worcester Theatres and I've watched my SYT groups perform on numerous occasions, but I have never been prouder than watching them on stage during the SYT Summer Showcase. Just standing on the stage itself is huge for some of our students, especially the Juniors, but they did more than just stand, they acted, danced and performed to audiences of 60 – 200, who were all delighted. It was incredibly rewarding for me as their tutor to see them supporting each other before the shows, including those from outside their groups. It was a fantastic experience and I felt very grateful to have witnessed it. Both the tutors and our young people did an amazing job and I'm looking forward to seeing what the Winter term brings.”
Creative Producer and Young REP Artistic Director, Owen Harper had this to say
“It has been absolutely fantastic to see all our Youth Theatre groups take to the main stage at the Swan Theatre. From our junior to senior groups, they were all energetic, confident performances and it was great to watch. To be part of this journey is always a delight for me personally, and I'm proud to say we have some incredibly talented young actors and we can’t wait to see what they are capable of next year. A massive well done to our Youth Theatre tutors, without their commitment, drive and passion for Youth Theatre we wouldn’t have had the amazing three days we did.”
Worcester Theatres also went on to say
"The biggest thank you goes to the parents for bringing their young people every week and supporting their passion for drama. We have cultivated a remarkable cohort of Young People and we look forward to seeing how they can develop."
For more information about the project please email [email protected]