Guest Blog Post – former member Rosie Baggott

Rosie-Baggott-Blog

Central Youth Theatre has been a huge part of my life since I joined at the age of 13. I have always been interested in theatre and as a member I got the chance to cut my teeth as an actor playing in a wide variety of productions. But more than just pushing my acting ability and theatrical knowledge, CYT taught me about how theatre can engage, educate and bring together a community.

As a member I performed across Wolverhampton in traditional theatre spaces (the NAC, Grand and Arena Theatre) and unusual venues such as Bantock House, The Slade Rooms and West Park. Almost all of the work CYT does focuses on Wolverhampton’s heritage: ‘The Supreme Sunbeam’ was about Wolverhampton’s motoring industry, ‘Soul Seekers’ a play written from memories of “The Catacombs” Wolverhampton’s Northern Soul club and ‘Lest We Forget: Their memories, our voices’ a series of plays based around Wolverhampton memories of the Second World War. I performed alongside a huge variety of young people from all ages, abilities and backgrounds, met many past members of the youth theatre and heard stories from a huge cross-section of Wolverhampton residents. As well as learning about my local community, I travelled to youth theatre festivals in Austria, Germany and Spain where I got the rare chance to perform for and watch work created by European young people. My time at CYT not only fuelled my passion for theatre but also left me with a huge sense of pride in my local community.

On leaving Sixth Form, I decided I wanted to go to drama school in the hope of having a career as an Actor. Competition for places at drama school is extremely heated and it took me four gruelling years of auditions and rejections before I finally secured a place on Birmingham School of Acting’s BA Acting course (from which I have just graduated!) During those four years Jane Ward (CYT’s artistic director) supported and encouraged me more than anyone else. She gave up her valuable time to help me choose audition pieces and gave me advice on how to perform them year after year.

Jane also gave me the chance to build my creative CV employing me to run workshops, direct plays and do admin work for CYT. She introduced me to Zip Theatre (now sadly closed down due to funding cuts) who gave me my first professional acting work when I was just 18. This professional experience (and my love of European theatre developed by CYT) allowed me to gain work with Italian TIE Company with whom I spent 6 months performing for young people in Italy. I was first introduced to the work of Big Brum Theatre Company through a project set up by Jane called ‘A Lot on my Plate’ which was directed by Bobby Colvill, a former member of Big Brum. This project altered my perception of theatre for young people dramatically and remains one of the most important projects in my professional development. On graduating from drama school I am lucky enough to be working as an Actor Teacher for Big Brum on their project ‘Bare Faced’ which will be toured to local schools in Autumn. Without Jane’s tireless encouragement and mentoring I could not have achieved half of what I have and her dedication to inspiring young people has, in turn, inspired me to peruse a career in creating theatre for young people and the community.

Central Youth Theatre has completely shaped my future career, expanded my horizons, driven me to travel and left me with life-long friends. Remarkably, my story is not unique – it is echoed by so many other young people who have passed through CYT. Jane goes out of her way to support all members of the youth theatre giving work to budding writers, directors, artists, comedians, teachers, historians, project developers, journalists, architects, broadcasters and many others. In a city and nation where young people often feel uninspired and under-valued – CYT encourages, educates and enables them to achieve their dreams.

Yet, despite all the positive work it has done for Wolverhampton, once again, Central Youth Theatre is facing closure. After losing it’s minimal City Council funding (a story echoed across many grassroots groups across the West Midlands) and being asked to leave it’s current residence by January 2016, times are looking extremely tough for the youth theatre. The closure of CYT would be a huge loss for the city of Wolverhampton as, now more than ever, we need to give the next generation of Wolverhampton an outlet to explore their talents within the context of the history of their city and give them a sense of pride in their community. In these times of Austerity we need to rally around any initiatives that promote a positive vision of Wolverhampton’s future.

So please spread the word about our youth theatre and pledge what you can towards CYT’s campaign to transform the old co-op building on Lichfield Street into a vibrant hub for the young people Wolverhampton. Central Youth Theatre surely deserves a permanent home in the City it loves so much.

Rosie Baggott

CYT-Heart-Fund

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