Montgomeryshire
Youth Theatre

Montgomeryshire Youth Theatre is Charity number 516040 and is a professionally led organisation which is based at Guilsfield Community Centre in Powys, Mid-Wales. The organisation was created in 1983 by Ginny Graham who was also the Creative and Administrative Director until she retired in July 2010, handing over the running of the organisation to Penny Jones who is still fulfilling the role.

The organisation’s Constitution can be seen in full on this website, but the aims (as stated in the Constitution) are as follows:-

“The objects of the Society are to foster and promote the education of young people, in Welsh and in English, in the appreciation and practice of Drama in all its aspects, and to co-operate with Local Authorities, Educational Institutions and Cultural Societies relating to the practice and presentation and study of Drama in order inter alia to promote better knowledge and more widespread interest in the practice of the performing Arts”.

In order to fulfil the objects set out by our Constitution we hold weekly drama workshops for three different age groups – Juniors, Intermediates and Seniors, and all sessions are two hours long. All workshops are professionally led by Penny and her Assistant Abi Johns, and you can find more details about them and all the other people involved in MYT on this website. Junior sessions are for children in school years 4, 5 and 6. Intermediate sessions are for young people in school years 7, 8 and 9 and Seniors make up the largest proportion of our membership and include young people from school year 10 up to age 21.

Since the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic we have had to reassess our way of working and consider our sustainability. We therefore applied for funding to move our entire operation away from Welshpool High School where we were subject to many restrictions, over to Guilsfield Community Centre where we have much freer access and can provide so many more opportunities for our students. With the funding we erected a large storage shed and office and are now able to store all our resources under one roof and have a fantastic base from which to work.

During the course of the pandemic we became more and more determined to continue to offer free and low cost opportunities. We live in an area which is high on the Multiple Index of Poverty and Deprivation and started to apply for funding to cover all our core costs and proceeded to offer Zoom sessions (completely free of charge) in Drama, Creative Writing, Stage Make-up and Hair, Storytelling, Book Club and Play Reading – all professionally led. This enabled us to offer the opportunity to non-members as well as members and we found that our engagement levels were high. Not only were our current members able to engage creatively with the Youth Theatre, but also with each other whilst they were stuck at home, and also with new people they met along the way. We have found that by doing this our member levels have increased now that we can work together in the same room again, ensuring the sustainability of our organisation.

Once restrictions were lessened we also provided a free two week summer school with social distancing and all restrictions observed (we wrote a specific Covid 19 Policy which has been incorporated into our Constitution) and also some weekend sessions for children with disabilities through Action for Children.

Pastoral care is high on our list of priorities and we pride ourselves on providing a safe and happy environment where young people can express themselves without fear of rejection, ostracism or being made fun of. We operate a very tight no-bullying policy and promote acceptance and understanding from our members. We don’t hold auditions for

entry to the membership or for any of our productions, preferring instead to let the young people explore their talents in their own time and providing them with the opportunity to make mistakes and to flourish.

Encouraging our members to develop high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem are also high on our list of priorities, giving them a level playing field and the opportunity to experiment freely and without criticism or censure. We welcome youngsters from all across the board with regard to background, talent and academic ability and have forged a relationship with the Action for Children Welshpool Group so that we can be wholly inclusive of children with disabilities, and some of these children have in the past become full members and integrated easily into our groups.

Many of our students go on to drama college or university to do a degree in drama and then into the entertainment industry. We support them on their journey – giving help and advice with audition speeches and interview techniques – and invite them back to work with us at every available opportunity. This has worked very well for us in that it has inspired the younger students to see what they can achieve; it has enabled the ex-students to skill-share and improve their confidence and we have also been able to employ several of them as professional artistes and workshop leaders enabling them to add to their experience and CVs. Not only do they get involved with performing in our Murder Mystery Fundraising Evenings, but they are mentored to lead workshops and deliver games and exercises for summer school and various other projects to help with their confidence and experience.

We currently have six Trustees and we also have many volunteers including some parents and/or their friends who come along and help us to benefit from their skills and experience by providing their services at low or no cost, enabling us to continue to subsidise the fees and keep them as low as possible.

Our fees are currently £50 for a term of twelve sessions, and with the increased cost of living approximately 30% of our places are given at low or no cost. We don’t charge extra for the additional projects and usually ask only for a minimal donation when taking groups on trips to the theatre.

Since our move to Guilsfield we have become increasingly involved with the community in general and the Guilsfield Community Centre in particular. We are involved in the day to day management of the centre, with Penny being on the Board of Trustees, and an important part of the upcoming improvements to the centre. We also instigated and project managed a community pantomime last December thereby forging stronger links with local groups and Community Centre users.

As a charity our sustainability depends on support from funding organisations and our members’ families and friends, the community at large and our Trustees and Volunteers. A huge ‘thank you’ to everybody who helps us to survive and thrive in these difficult times, and we look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming fundraisers or shows!