User:Moonbeck/Borders Youth Theatre

Borders Youth Theatre
Borders Youth Theatre (BYT) is a voluntary and registered charitable organisation, committed to providing high quality drama classes and opportunities for public performances, for young people aged 8 to 21, in the Scottish Borders.

Borders Youth theatre is runs junior and senior weekly workshops in seven towns across the Borders, during school term times. Borders Youth Theatre also runs intensive production weeks for juniors and seniors in the October half term holiday and Easter holiday, and a variety of summer holiday projects.

Borders Youth Theatre is run by the Borders Youth Theatre Board, made up of volunteer parents, drama practitioners and others, elected at an Annual General Meeting.

The current Board includes:

Chairperson: John Turner

Membership Secretary: Gill Yellowlees

Treasurer: Primrose Scott

Lisa Cowan (publicity/productions), Diane Durham (fundraising), Jenni Bisset (fundraising), Ros Anderson (Admin), Amanda Glasgow (production), Oliver Bisset (production), Lucy Keen (youth rep), Andrew Richardson (production), Clare Brett (production), Sam Gulliver-Goodall (production/youth rep).

The workshop leaders are independent contractors with qualifications and/or experience in youth drama, paid by BYT to run the workshops.

BYT receives a grant from Scottish Borders Council (SBC) to help fund the weekly workshops, and to support the costs of productions and performances. The SBC grant covers around one third of total annual costs.

BYT fees are maintained at a subsidised rate, in order to ensure that access to drama is available for young people from all backgrounds. Young people having genuine difficulty with fees can apply for further assistance.

Performance productions, particularly the intensive production weeks, cost several thousand pounds. This means that substantial fundraising and grant fund applications must be carried out to support these projects.

Relatively low cost performances by local groups can be staged without additional funding if the costs of the venue, additional director time, props, costumes etc is covered by ticket sales, raffle etc. If local groups wish to stage more expensive productions, then local grant funding and sponsorship is necessary. The BYT Board is hoping to involve more of the parents of BYT members in fundraising activities to support local groups. Scottish Borders Council Advisors: Nicky Toneri, Rita Docherty, Olivia Roper, Kirsty Taylor, Lisa Denham and Jenny Miller (Youth Borders).

Borders Youth Theatre Official Website

Borders Youth Theatre Unofficial Bebo site

Borders Youth Theatre Introduction Film

Borders Youth Theatre Dr Faustus

Borders Youth Theatre Street Theatre

Borders Youth Theatre Fight Scenes