ST MARY'S YOUTH THEATRE: May 2007

Thursday, 17 May 2007

EMILY FOLLOWS RACHAEL ON THE ROAD TO STARDOM

Our congratulations go to Emily Cairns for gaining a place at the prestigious Sylvia Young stage school in London. She is following in the footsteps of her big sister Rachael who is an actress and singer/songwriter. Rachael is currently appearing in the soap opera Doctors. Other TV credits include the BBC version of Robin Hood, Alice, I Think, All About Me and Casualty. Both Rachael and Emily have appeared with St Mary's Youth Theatre in

numerous amateur productions at the Leeds Civic Theatre, The Carriageworks and the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.

RACHAEL CAIRNS

Eleri (Robin Hood)
Emily Fenton (Doctors- series)
Amy Harkins (Casualty)
Lucy (All About Me)
Rachael (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

WHO ARE WE

St. Mary's Youth Theatre was formed in August 1993 by Steve Archdale who was concerned about the increasing problems of alcohol and drug abuse in the teenage community of Garforth. With so little for the youngsters to do, especially in the field of theatre arts and drama, the idea of creating a youth theatre seemed appropriate.

A cast of 60+ with ages ranging from 8 to 22 auditioned for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, all were successful, no one was turned away. The show was rehearsed and performed in 8 weeks to thunderous acclaim in a church hall converted into a Pharaoh's tomb by a local artist. The following week they returned eager to find out what they were doing next. What began as a one-off production became the start of many shows to come.

A disastrous fire in 1995 wrecked their headquarters, destroying costumes, props and sets. This could easily have been the end of SMYT but as a result they have pulled together and grown stronger gradually replacing their losses. As members of the Leeds Civic Arts Guild they perform at the new, Leeds Carriageworks theatre which is in the Millenium Square, mainly musicals (i.e., Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fame, Children of Eden, etc.). The National Theatre Connections scheme gives the group the chance to perform new plays written by the very best writers. In 2002 they were fortunate to perform at the Royal National Theatre itself…what an experience! Their latest productions include Little Shop of Horrors, Honk, 17, Feather Boy,The Musicians,We Will Rock You, Rent, Our House, Les Miserables, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, The Passion, Our Cousin Flo, Scrooge, Peter Pan, Whistle Down The Wind and Annie.

SMYT are now based, rehearse and perform at Green Lane Academy and St Mary's Church, Garforth, Leeds and charge a yearly subscription fee of £40.