Free Youth Theatre for 13-16 year olds from underrepresented backgrounds.
St Mary’s has teamed up with the National Saturday Club to host the Performance & Theatre Saturday Club. This weekly Club is run by St Mary's as a Youth Theatre. It takes place on Saturday mornings, is completely free, and is intended for teenagers aged 13-16 from underrepresented backgrounds. The Youth Theatre is supported by Drama St Mary's and the University's Widening Participation and Outreach team, as part of St Mary’s University’s commitment to widening participation in Higher Education and the arts.
Please read on for further information and photos from last year's Youth Theatre. For a full list of dates when the Youth Theatre will take place for 2024/25, please view this document (dates subject to change).
Please apply before the first session - Saturday 5th October 2024.
Apply for the Performance & Theatre Club
What was it like last year?
During our third year of the Youth Theatre, our Director Daniela Lucinda Santos took the group on a new journey.
Daniela was aided by four Leaders from the BA Acting course, Georgie, Gina, Lewis and Chikeziem. Our members came from St Paul's Catholic College, Springwest Academy, The Richmond upon Thames School, Coombe Girls School, Waldegrave School, St Richard Reynolds Catholic College and Langley Academy.
We had a lot of fun
The National Saturday Club team organised several amazing opportunities for us, including:
- Self Portrait project, 11th November 2023 - we worked with a professional photographer (Anya Ellis- @ShotsbyLasagne) to compose a portrait to express ourselves.
- London Visit, 2nd December 2023 - we viewed our self portraits on display in a gallery at Central St Martins, and visited the National Theatre for a workshop. You can view all the Saturday Club self portraits.
- Masterclass with the Royal Opera House, 23rd March 2024 - club memebers were given the unique opportunity to watch the set-up for a dress rehearsal of the theatre's current production, Carmen. They then sat through talks covering stage management, lightning and costume design, before deciding which discipline they'd like to explore further. From this, they worked closely with each department to produce their own mini production of Carmen, which they later performed to the group!
- Graduation and Summer Show at Somerset House, 14th July 2024 - take a look at some photo highlights.
We achieved so much by the end of the year
During 2023/24, the St Mary's University Performance & Theatre Saturday Club worked on a range of scripted works, and performed them in a showcase at West Thames College during July 2024. They also created this video to show their rehearsal process, and exhibited it at the National Saturday Club's annual Summer Show at Somerset House.You can view their final video.
First priority for places will be given to young people who meet one or more Widening Participation criteria, to support fair access to the arts and Higher Education. Examples of Widening Participation criteria include, but are not limited to:
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students eligible for Free School Meals in the past five years
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students who have experienced Local Authority Care
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students from an ethnicity that is underrepresented in Higher Education (this could include Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, and Gypsy Roma Traveller communities).
Information on eligibility for our outreach programmes is available on our Targeting and Eligibility webpages. Please contact us with any questions about eligibility for the Youth Theatre, or to provide any further information you wish to supply with your application.
You don't need lots of prior acting experience - everyone in the Youth Theatre will have different skills. Everyone will learn a lot about acting techniques, speaking and movement. It's a great way to gain confidence and make new friends. You will work with about 25 other young people of a similar age, and be guided by a talented and welcoming team from Drama St Mary's.
Our Director and team of current BA Acting students will be with you all the way, helping you get comfortable in self-expression, devising your own pieces of theatre, and performing for audiences.
"The longer I stay, the more I find myself as a person and find my confidence. I'm loving it."
We're hiring - drama leaders, BA Acting Level 5 and 6
Each year we recruit drama leaders to support the director in facilitating the weekly Youth Theatre sessions. For 2024/25, we are seeking four current students from the Drama St Mary's BA Acting course (Level 5 and 6) to work as drama leaders.
Please view the job description (uploaded in due course) for further details of the role.
Applications will open soon. To apply, complete this short application form (uploaded in due course).
Any questions about the drama leader role? Email us at DramaSaturdayClub@stmarys.ac.uk
"I feel really lucky to have been a Saturday club leader! Getting to see everyone in the group grow as individuals, and as actors, was really special."
Gina (Drama Leader 2023/24)
Contact us
If you have any concerns like how to get to St Mary's University, or anything else, however small, we would love to hear from you.
Email us: DramaSaturdayClub@stmarys.ac.uk
Megan Simmons: Widening Participation and Outreach Officer - 020 8240 4014
Mandip Birk: Senior Widening Participation and Outreach Officer - 020 8240 4081