My granny often reminds me of the time I asked her at the bold age of three: “Granny, how do you get to be famous?”
I don’t think I actually wanted fame, all I knew was that I loved the feeling of being on stage, costume pinned up so I didn’t trip, glitter hairspray in my eyes.
Local theatre groups across the north and north-east are giving kids a much-needed confidence boost, communities an opportunity to come together and those more isolated a chance to belong.
Sell-out shows are being produced by amateur groups as often as they are by touring professionals heading north from down south – demonstrating the desire communities here have for local theatre.
Knowing the impact being involved in performing arts had on me throughout my childhood and into my adult life, I was keen to find out how theatre groups across the region are nurturing the dreams of kids like me.
Lochaber Showstoppers
When Ryan Flay returned to Fort William during the pandemic after working away as a professional performer, the original 1993 Lochaber Showstoppers group had all but disappeared.
Following a desperate plea for someone to revive it last March, he and a few other locals decided to do that with a pantomime.
“We decided with no resources, no money, not even the promise of a cast, that we would put on a pantomime,” said Ryan.
“I said I’d write and direct; we did Hansel and Gretel, we did the auditions and it was an absolute roaring success. We went from five people sat on Zoom to having five sell-out performances.”
Turnout at auditions was more than they could have hoped for, and Ryan constantly tweaked and adjusted the script to ensure the area’s characters were reflected in the pantomime.
Even those who didn’t want to be on stage stepped forward to help with other aspects of the show, with Ryan saying: “Pretty much everything was community based, we made the costumes ourselves, we built the sets ourselves, everyone got involved and we were thrifty as anything.
“It genuinely looked incredible, it looked like a proper pantomime.”
He and the team watched quiet, isolated members of the community come out of their shells – a new mum reclaiming her independence in the role of the fairy, a woman with learning difficulties revealing her class-clown sense of humour, a newcomer to the area forming friendships.
Ryan himself realised the importance of theatre in his own life while stood on stage as the pantomime’s dame.
“At one point I never thought that was going to happen again, it was a moment I genuinely will never forget,” said Ryan.
“For some people this is just a silly little panto in Fort William. But for people like me, this is the only thing I’m good at and truly passionate about; if I didn’t have this I don’t know what I would do.”
The community response to the pantomime proves how much it values local theatre and has left the “new era” Lochaber Showstoppers hungry for more.
2023’s pantomime is already in the works and auditions for April’s production of The Addams Family were held just last week.
Ryan is keen to ensure the group is inclusive and encourages anyone who wants to to get involved: “Be as weird and wonderful as you want, we will have you, we will find a place for you.
“You will not only be supported, you will be celebrated for that.”
If you are interested in joining Lochaber Showstoppers, you can contact them and keep up with all the latest news on their Facebook page.
Aberdeen Arts Centre
Aberdeen Arts Centre‘s in-house youth musical theatre group, Castlegate Theatre Company (CTC), is a youth theatre company for ages eight to 17.
The centre also runs a creative learning programme featuring Saturday drama groups, stage craft classes and writing workshops to nurture local youths’ growing talents.
Chloe Lonchay, creative learning co-ordinator at the centre, said the young people who attend the classes might not even realise how much they are getting out of them.
“We see kids growing in confidence all the time,” she said.
“We quite often hear from parents ‘my child feels safe here’, that’s one of the things I hold on to.
“They feel safe, they feel included, they feel like they have found their tribe. They are able to feel confident in a room where everyone is there for the same reasons.”
That confidence needed worked on after the pandemic, but in general Chloe said there has been an increase in young people wanting to get involved in theatre since.
The team at the centre constantly works with and adapts to the kids who go to classes there, making sure it is meeting their needs, helping them learn even if they don’t realise it.
Chloe added: “Drama feels like it’s not the same as being at school, you’re up and moving and playing a game, but those games have got method in their madness.
“They’re learning all the time. You’re helping kids think on their feet, instilling confidence, learning to work as part of a team.”
Amateur theatre groups have operated out of Aberdeen Arts Centre since the 50s and 60s, with CTC taking the form it is in now more than a decade ago.
“Teaching and learning through theatre and drama is in the bones of the place,” said Chloe.
The mum-of-two feels strongly about ensuring its youth theatre is accessible to all as she herself benefited from it growing up.
She said: “I was on a scholarship for stage school, and we want to make sure we can give access to people who might not be able to afford it – whether that’s through funding or just our reasonable prices for what we offer.
“That’s something that’s really important to me because it’s something I was given. It’s a full-circle thing, I haven’t gone on to do musical theatre but I’m still involved in helping and nurturing them.”
Aberdeen Arts Centre offers young people opportunities to take up roles backstage as well as at the centre of it.
Chloe explained: “Through the CTC shows we offer opportunities backstage, with the technical side of things and with costumes or props.
“CTC is a creative learning hub, we’ve got the kids on stage but we’re also working with young musicians, people doing their HNDs in make-up, people who are interested in doing the technical side, we’re trying to create those opportunities for people.”
This year is the start of something new for CTC as it takes on its first original commissioned musical, which is already in the works and will take to the stage in June.
CTC is currently at capacity, but you can join a waiting list and make the most of the Arts Centre’s other offerings in the meantime.
Highland Youth Theatre
Gillian Murdoch attended Highland Youth Theatre (HYT) from the age of seven and now runs its classes in Moray at the age of 32.
HYT was originally based in Inverness but opened a branch in Moray – headed by Gillian – in 2012.
Though its presence in Inverness has reduced a little through the years, in Moray, the group has taken centre stage.
Gillian teaches 140 children between the ages of three and 19 every week in classes in Forres and Elgin, performing at local events and working on a number of productions annually.
She makes sure she adapts classes to teenagers in the area after realising there weren’t as many performing arts opportunities for them.
“We’ve created something they want to stick with, allowing us to look at things that are maybe a bit more gritty or more complex like Shakespeare,” explained Gillian.
“They can grow with us; if we’re looking at a piece of theatre or we’re writing a script, it’s not about me doing it for them, it’s about working on it together.”
Older members are also encouraged to get involved in more aspects of HYT like teaching classes, choreographing shows and helping backstage.
Gillian said: “I let them take the lead in sessions and it’s lovely to watch, it’s just nurturing that within them.”
In a class before Christmas, Gillian asked HYT members what words they associated with the group, which prompted answers including “friendship”, “belonging” and “home”.
Talking about how beneficial an involvement in theatre can be for kids, whether they want to pursue it as a profession or not, she said: “I’ve done my job right if, by the time they get to S2, they can stand up and do a talk a little bit braver.
“If they are thriving and their head is in the game and they want to go and study it, I’m behind them. But also, if all they have gained has been feeling a little more self-assured or braver, or like they’ve found a place where they fit in, great.
“How they feel in our space is always going to be more important to me than anything we could produce.”
It’s a busy time at HYT, with the junior classes preparing to perform Snow White in the summer, the seniors in rehearsals for Grease and everyone preparing to perform at Gordon Castle Highland Games and MacMoray.
If you are interested in finding out more about getting involved, you can contact Gillian on glcarts@yahoo.co.uk
Preparation for the future
Now studying acting and performance at UHI, it is not difficult to see the impact local theatre has had on 18-year-old Isla Edwards.
She remembers begging her parents to let her join HYT after Gillian went along and handed out leaflets at her school when she was seven.
For the next decade she did two shows per year with the group, developing a love for performing and the people she was doing it with.
“I was a socially awkward child and I didn’t really know how to handle certain situations. I was bubbly and over-the-top sometimes so when I was put in a room with others like me I just thought ‘I’ve found my people’,” she said.
Of her “lifelong friends” from the group, Isla said: “We all support each other non-stop.
“That’s what it’s all about and that’s what you need, whether it’s your first time performing or your hundredth time performing.”
In the last 10 years, Elgin-based Isla has taken on a range of roles in productions, most recently Sharpay in High School Musical.
She said that performance was one of her most memorable: “When we got to Lossie Town Hall and stood on the stage with our mics, I never would have thought from standing on my primary school stage that that was where I would end up.”
Isla now helps out with classes at HYT and is choreographing its upcoming production of Grease.
The student has her sights set beyond Moray, but ultimately wouldn’t mind if she ended up coming back to her roots.
“If I ended up back up here to work more with Highland Youth Theatre I would not be complaining,” she said.
“It has shown me what I want to do in life.”
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