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SUMMER PROJECT 2011 |
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NEW SHOW NAMED 'THE KEY OF D'Waterford Youth Arts paid the biggest compliment in its 25year history by asking back professional director Scott Johnston to direct this years Summer Project. Scott originally directed 'The Land of Stuff' back in 2001 and was delighted to be asked back to see all his old friends in Waterford. This new show once again is a huge challenge with the process starting just last week on Monday 18th July with twenty teenagers and a local writer Adam Wallace all arriving in to start with a blank page and over the next 5 weeks creating a new play. So here we are on day 6 (week two) in this process and they have a title ‘The Key of D’ and they have located 4,000 keys and 22 umbrellas all needed in the show. Scott is very excited about the show: "'The Key of D' will be brilliant! I have a really talented cast and crew and their ideas are great and I’m looking forward to the show." The show will be seen at Garter Lane on the week of 22nd August and you need to keep the dates in your diary. |
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FROM A PREVIOUS PRESS RELEASEWell, the big news so far is that WYA has hired the services of one of their most treasured previous visiting directors, Scott Johnston from Edinburgh in Scotland. Scott was here in Waterford many moons ago (2001) and helped to create a great show with the teenage actors, ‘The Land of Stuff’, which was written by Jim Daly. WYA is again planning to unite Scott with a local writer and this year we are delighted to announce that Adam Wallace will be the writer for the project. Adam is an ex-member of WYA and has been seen as a budding young writer since the unveiling of his one-man show ‘Catch the Wind’ in 2008. This new show will see the young people work full-time with Scott and Adam during July and August and the production will happen in the week of 22 August. “It’s a great opportunity for young people to get a taste of professional theatre and they learn a lot about theatre in the process”, stated WYA director Ollie Breslin. “Scott and Adam should be a great combination and we are very excited about it and delighted that Garter Lane Arts Centre has decided to work with WYA as co-producers of the show”. |
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PRESS RELEASE: Youth Theatre OpportunityEach year Waterford Youth Arts aims to give older teenagers a chance to experience a ‘professional theatre’ opportunity by bringing in a theatre director and a number of local professionals in other support areas e.g. lighting and stage management etc. Last year 2010 WYA had the excellent services of local director Jim Nolan and this year they are delighted to bring back the expertise of Scottish Director Scott Johnston. Scott last directed for WYA in 2001 when with local writer Jim Daly they created ‘The Land of Stuff’. WYA are delighted to have him back again and it presents a great opportunity for young people who want to learn form such an experienced director. Scott is delighted to be back in Waterford this summer and as he says “I really enjoy working with WYA, they are undoubtedly one of the most vibrant and dynamic youth arts organisations in the country, the young people are hugely talented and supported by a brilliant team with their regular drama workshop programme". He also is looking forward to spending time here “I am delighted and excited to be coming back to work in Waterford. Every time I return to the city I am made to feel so welcome it's almost like coming home”. Since he last worked in Waterford Scott has been very busy as he has directed over thirty plays ranging including a new adaptation of a Clockwork Orange (with Alex and his droogs being a girl gang), Under Milk Wood, Martin Crimp's Attempts on Her Life, Desperately Seeking Scotland by Roderick Stewart, A View from the Boundary and Three Minute Hero by John Harvey, 4:48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane (rated 4 stars in The Scotsman) and a large scale production of A Christmas Carol. Scott has also worked extensively in Romania where he has run masterclasses at the Sibiu International Festival, directed and devised a co-production between Cumbernauld Theatre and Teatrul de Comedie in Bucharest (5 stars in the Romanian Press). Last year he was awarded the University Medal by the National University Academy of Theatre in Targu Mures, the first non-eastern European to be awarded this honour. He has run countless workshops for a diverse range of festivals and conferences including Promote Youth Theatre in England and National Association of Youth Theatre in Scotland. He has also devised training programmes for academic and business institutions on a range of areas from team building to staff appraisal programmes. Scott is the Theatre Tutor for acting and performance at The Performing Arts Studio Scotland, Telford, Edinburgh, (PASS) which is a third level College for the arts in Scotland. |
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