When Ollie Breslin called me at my home in Cambridge to ask me to write down my thoughts about Waterford Youth Drama being 21, I have to say I was a little stunned. Not at the fact that the call came, or that it was the esteemed Mr. Breslin on the other end of the line, but that WYD was in fact as old as 21. In the time that it took to remove the receiver from my ear and replace it in the cradle, twenty-one years of life flashed before my eyes. Memories of me as a young boy; not even a shaver, not yet been kissed, not a clue how to drive. The old creaky rooms in Garter Lane Art Centre. A different room every week, new faces every week, and then, later, the same old faces every week. Faces I haven’t seen for years but still count amongst my friends.

It’s not impossible for WYD to be 21, but it does seem to me that it’s impossible that I was there right at the start... well, week two to be exact.

I had no idea then what it would lead on to. Years of rehearsals and re-rehearsals and nerve-wracking shows in the new Garter Lane Art Centre2. Some very odd moments on stage in school halls and enough of a passing interest in theatre to successfully audition for drama school in Dublin.

Later (over 10 years ago in fact), while studying Theatre and Stage Management, I had the pleasure of reflecting over the last 10 years of WYD productions and how I had come to fall in love with the Arts under the tutelage of the much loved and now, sadly missed Mr. Ted O’Regan.

"Fools Gold", 1988.  Left to right: Fergal Kavanagh,
Steven Bourke,Orla Keane (more)

I realise now that it was the values I learned at those weekly gatherings that have stood me in such good stead over the past 21 years. We were never pressured into anything, just gently reminded that the show itself was of the most importance. It didn’t matter if you were the person with the most lines or the guy sweeping the stage before the audience came in, if you took pride in your part, then the whole thing would be a success. And successful it always was.

It was with WYD that I first visited the Project Arts Centre where I would later be Production Manager. It was with WYD that I first visited St. Herblain. It was with WYD that I gained the confidence to work with Bedrock Theatre Company; founders of the Dublin Fringe Festival and Opera Theatre Company, touring the highlands and surrounding islands of this Fair Isle. Last but not least, it was with WYD that I discovered you don’t need to be a star to shine.

Having spent the last few days ruminating on what to put on this page (Ollie didn’t tell me how long it should be!), I realise that I am a little bit jealous of today’s members of WYD. The lives they have ahead of them are as full of possibilities now as that room on the second floor of Garter Lane Art Centre was, way back in 1985, and I know that, with Ollie at the helm, the future of youth and youth drama in Waterford is assured for many years to come.

-- Ste Bourke, September 2006