Youth theatre voices: ‘It gave me a sense of myself when things felt very chaotic as a teenager’

Getting involved in youth theatre can be transformative, and great fun. Drama workshops and performances for ages 12 to 21 involve about 2,200 young people and 300 leaders in 57 groups across Ireland, according to Youth Theatre Ireland.

For those who’d like to sample youth theatre, there are more than 50 theatre workshops next week around Ireland – including writing, performance, technical skills and stage combat. The youth theatre workshops are one small part of Cruinniú na nÓg on June 11th, a nationwide blitz of all sorts of free creative events and performances for young people. We asked some ex-youth theatre people what getting involved meant to them as teenagers.

Emma Grainger (head of strategic initiatives at Léargas):

Youth theatre was life-changing, which I sensed somewhat at the time, but more so on reflection as an adult. Aged 12 I accidentally heard about Tallaght Youth Theatre. I’d no interest in performance, being introverted and self-conscious. But the games when I arrived seemed relaxed and fun, with no pressure to perform. I was hooked from that first workshop, and for the next 16 years — including as a leader and board member — I had experiences my non-YT peers didn’t have, going to national festivals and eye-opening European youth exchanges, and putting on shows — an incredible buzz.

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Key to youth theatre is that young people create change. They change an inactive space into an active one. Personally I remember the sense of “we did that!”, and that exhilaration was amazing. Seeing a Monaghan street transformed into a dancehall through guerrilla theatre at the 1998 National Festival of Youth Theatres was very empowering, and I think lifted us into believing we were capable of anything.

Philly McMahon (writer/director):

I’ve worked professionally in theatre for over two decades, writing and directing for stage and running THISISPOPBABY. I am, however, “untrained”; I didn’t study drama at college. My training was an apprenticeship of sorts, learned on the hoof at the front and back of stage, and the first tools in my skillset were wrought with Dublin Youth Theatre and National Youth Theatre.

Youth theatre was the start of an incredible journey, which I’m still on, and I often pinpoint those years, those shows, as pivotal in my life. Joining youth theatre aged 15, I made lifelong friends, decades-long collaborators, and found a calling in theatre, leading to a very fulfilling career. Youth theatre was a space for play and discovery. It gave me a sense of myself when things felt very chaotic as a teenager. It introduced me to art and theatre, and unlocked creativity I didn’t know I had.

Annie Hoey (Labour Party Senator):

Getting involved in youth theatre with my best friend Christina Matthews as teenagers in Drogheda meant I could really “be” myself. I was in a space where creativity flowed and you were never wrong for trying something. I could explore dozens of characters and, by default, myself. This had a lasting influence. I explore problems creatively and wouldn’t think twice about getting up from my desk, walking the space till I’ve worked something out, shaking things out when I’m tense, or using breathing exercises to calm my mind before an event or speech. I don’t even know I’m doing things I learned in youth theatre, they’re just innate.

Our youth theatre facilitator Sharon Cromwell created a magical space where as teenagers we felt heard, understood and safe. I think she both changed lives and saved lives. She encouraged me to study theatre in UCC and I set off on my path as an activist and now Senator.

Eamon Fox (lighting designer):

I was pushed into Dublin Youth Theatre by a speech and drama teacher (whose classes I was pushed into, under protest, by a caring mother). I felt duty-bound to take the coveted DYT place, never imagining it would lead me to a career in the arts.

When I walked into DYT’s home at 23 Gardiner St, I presumed youth theatre was predominantly acting-orientated. I was wrong. DYT was a hustle and bustle of different lives congregating in one small house. This house was a kaleidoscope of experiences, attitudes and people from all over Dublin (and I was not even from Dublin). The social ecosystem was as important as the workshops and activities. DYT gave me confidence and helped me grow through workshops, weeks away, shows. I would not be where I am without experiencing youth theatre. Your teenage years abound with life-affirming choices and DYT gave me opportunities for awareness and growth. Youth theatre is not about career paths or getting parts, but using the experience of theatre to guide young people in their precarious years to develop into adults. It expands the minds and thoughts of a new, impressionable generation. Growth by becoming involved is core to youth theatre.

John Taite (eTwinning Officer, Léargas):

I found youth theatre relatively late in my teens (at Red Cow Lane Youth Theatre) but when I did, it fundamentally changed my life. The sense of belonging and being among like-minded people was strong and influential. That you could create your own theatre was exciting. The sense that we were all in this together, that it was our creation, was hugely satisfying. I learnt drama wasn’t just about performing, that the journey to create was as important as the final product. Youth theatre also taught me personal and social skills and opened my eyes to the world. Later I had the privilege of working with Youth Theatre Ireland for 18 years, training drama facilitators and working with the amazing young people of National Youth Theatre. The impact of youth theatre is still with me. I draw on those experiences for my work, and many friends are from those days. I am so thankful for everything youth theatre gave me.

https://cruinniu.creativeireland.gov.ie/ https://www.youththeatre.ie/