GROUPS
The Lytton Youth Theatre currently run three groups -

	8 to 13 year olds - Sundays 4.30pm till 6.00pm
	14 to 18 year olds - Sundays 6.00pm till 7.30pm
	Advanced Group - Thursdays 7.00 pm till 10.00pm

There is a one month break usually somewhere between June and September.

Membership subscriptions for Youth (under 16) or Student (16+) members can be found here.

8 to 13 year olds
This is an opportunity for younger members to take the centre stage, develop their drama skills, develop their confidence and learn some of the basics about appearing on stage.  General improvisation, character work and acting skills are covered in these sessions. Most of these sessions are run by members of the advanced group under the supervision of Dave Slade. As with all the groups the emphasis is on having fun and enjoying learning theatre skills.

14 to 18 year olds
This slightly older group gives them a chance to explore more complex theatre skills. As with the other group general improvisation, character work and acting skills are covered in these sessions. These sessions are run by Dave Slade with assistance from various people.

Advanced Group
The advanced group includes older and more experienced members from the Sunday Groups.  Dave Slade covers more advanced acting skills, improvisation techniques and encourages the members to write and direct their own material. It is hoped that this group will produce future Youth Leaders and Directors.  This group is by invitation only and is kept at a limit of 10 to 12 students.  It is based on experience, ability and maturity.

During preparation for a production we use all of the Sunday sessions to rehearse and nearer the performance date Thursdays. In the future there will be specific workshops on Sundays open to all age groups covering music, dance and directing. When we have sorted out our dates a calendar of events will be issued.

WHO RUNS THE LYTTON YOUTH THEATRE

Dave Slade
Dave Slade has been running the youth group since 1998.  Before that Dave ran Open Door Community Theatre at Bowes Lyon House and was a part time teacher for Dreams Unlimited.  He has also directed shows for Herts Operatic and Dramatic Society, The Phoenix Players (Luton) and The Buntingford Players.  He is an ex television writer for shows like Spitting Image, A Kick Up The Eighties and Alas Smith & Jones.  Dave has directed for the Youth - Son Of The Mechano, Panda and Little Shop Of Horrors.  He has also produced Shadows, which was written, directed and performed by the Advanced Group.  For the Adult sections he has directed among others Chess, 1948 and All That (50 year history of the Lytton Players which Dave also scripted), Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, Man Of La Mancha and Sweeney Todd.   He is also one of the Managing Directors of Stagefrights Theatre Club Ltd in Buntingford.  Dave is very keen to get the youth involved in writing and directing productions.

Sue Percival
Sue can usually be found behind the bar during youth nights or bringing Dave constant cups of tea, chocolate and crisps to "keep them going".  She has been an active member of the Lyttons Wardrobe section, and has costumed all the recent youth shows.  One of Sue's claims to fame is that she fainted when The Who played at Bowes Lyon House and was on the front page of The Comet.

Lesley Humphreys
Lesley has been helping out with the youth for about 4 years now mainly behind the tuckshop serving sweeties and keeping Dave happy with cups of tea and the odd homemade cakes and helping out with Christmas parties. She has now started to direct shows with the youth and hopes to do many more with them.

Ashley Humphreys
Ashley helps run the tuckshop on a Sunday as well as keeping the two ladies in tow!! He is often being told off for making the children hyperactive by telling funny stories and bad jokes. He also helps out with all the social activities that we run.

Sonya Chenerey
Sonya first joined the Lytton Youth in 2000, taking part in shows such as Ring Of Roses and the Thursday Group show Shadows then took a break from drama in 2002, returning in 2005 to help run the Sunday Group. She has since appeared in, and is very proud of, the recent Thursday Group production Antigone, which she found both challenging and rewarding in equal measure.  Sonya has also taken part in Shakespeare In The Garden at Stevenage Museum in 2005 and 2006. Putting her skills learned as an undergraduate Fine Arts student to work, Sonya has produced paintings for the sets of An Inspector Calls (for which she also operated the lighting) and the Youth show Pennywhistle Paradise. In addition to drama and art, Sonya's interests include folk music, travel, cats, and an incurable love of SpongebobSquarepants.

CRB CHECKS
Please note that all the above Adult Organisers/Helpers have been fully CRB checked