All the world's a stage for University students
Posted on 14 March 2005
The students - from the Department of English - have all volunteered to help run the youth theatre's next four productions. They have been recruited from a group of 20 enthusiasts who first heard a talk by Stagecoach's artistic director and founder John Cooper, and then passed a tough interview. The process was guided by Mike Cordner of the Department of English who has directed drama productions himself and is the General Editor of the Oxford University Press World's Classics English Drama Series.
The voluntary work they will do has been organised by the University's 'Active York' scheme, which encourages students to become involved in a wide range of community projects.
The students will get a unique chance to work in a flourishing youth theatre with a wonderful range of productions
John Cooper
They will be working on four productions from April until January 2006:
- Loving Will, a revue-type show taking Shakespeare as its general inspiration, and aiming to give a company of 10 to 14-year-olds fun performing different aspects of the Bard's works. The show is scheduled to play at Stagecoach Studio Theatre in Monkgate from Wednesday 29 June to Saturday 2 July
- Twelfth Night which 20 senior members of the company hope to produce in the idyllic setting of the gardens of Newby Hall on the evenings of 22 - 24 July followed by four afternoon performances in the Rose Gardens of Castle Howard between 28 and 31 July.
- The House of Bernada Alba, the Spanish classic dealing with repression will be tackled by another senior team during the first week of September, again playing at the Stagecoach Studio Theatre.
- The Rose and the Ring - Stagecoach plans to bring together young people of all ages for a-new musical version of Thackeray's charming Victorian fairy story. The script is being written by Stephen Wyatt who created the radio adaptation of Vanity Fair for Radio 4 late last year.
Director John Cooper said: "I'm delighted the curtain has risen on this project. The students will get a unique chance to work in a flourishing youth theatre with a wonderful range of productions.
"They'll be shadowing me for a lot of the time and they'll be expected to take on a stretching range of duties. On occasion they will have solo responsibility for areas such musical numbers. I'm very much looking forward to working with them."
The volunteer directors will be expected to help with the warm-ups before rehearsals and productions; to produce electrics and sound cue sheets; and to design and produce a printed programme. Their administrative duties will include attending all the rehearsals and performance of their particular production and being responsible for health and safety and other paperwork. Occasionally they may need to stand in for John Cooper as director.
Dr Lorna Warnock, the University of York link with Stagecoach, said: "The students have had to prove themselves to get these directorships and I'm sure they'll have a wonderful experience. They will be mentored and followed to ensure they get any help or advice they need. I'm looking forward to seeing their productions very much."
Notes to editors:
- The students are taking up their new roles through the STEPS programme - Stagecoach Theatre's Expansion Plan for Students - which is a collaboration between Stagecoach, the University of York's Department of English, and Active York.
- Active York encourages the University's 9,000 students and 2,000 staff to volunteer in the community. There is a long-standing culture of volunteering at the University. .Active York provides small-scale funding to develop volunteering projects.
- Active York is working with and learning from the experience of current volunteers to develop existing activities and to pioneer new ways of supporting the community.
- The students, who are unpaid, will receive basic travel expenses for their voluntary work from Active York, which has also helped with some funding toward the Stagecoach Youth Theatre.