The Gloucestershire Youth Theatre Company welcomed their students back for a new term earlier this month.

Formed in 2010, the Gloucestershire Youth Theatre Company have enjoyed a huge surge in popularity in recent years. Initially they ran a weekly workshop but now, eight years after launching, they hold regular classes in both Cheltenham and Gloucester every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening.

Michael Greenman is the Artistic Director for the Gloucestershire Youth Theatre Company, and he says he’s been pleased with the enthusiasm of his members who are keen to begin working towards their next production which takes place in the spring.

He said: “We have just started our new academic year so it’s a busy time for us. We aim to run eleven weekly sessions per term culminating in our production that’s due to take place in early March.

“We’re still taking applications. We’ll always try and fit new people in. Our next show is in March, so we’ll probably stop taking new people in January, just so they don’t feel like they’re being rushed into a performance.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to achieve over the last eight years. We started off by running a single weekly class. We started to gain a bit of recognition and people could see the Gloucestershire Youth Theatre Company meant business and we’ve built on that momentum ever since.

“We’re not just about the teaching side of things, our whole ethos is centred around helping build the confidence of the children who attend our classes. The arts are something that young people can gain a lot out of, in terms of improving social skills and self-belief.

“When first timers come to a lesson our aim is to make them feel as welcome as possible. Unlike a lot of theatre groups we don’t charge a lot for our lessons. We’re very much of the opinion that theatre should be available to everyone, no matter what background or social class. Our young members are very welcoming, they were all beginners once, they’re so supportive to new members.”

Mike is firmly of the opinion that their production in March isn’t the most important thing for his students.

He continued: “The performances will be what they’ll be. We’re not expecting West End quality performances. We’re working with young actors who are trying to learn how to perform on stage. The most important thing is that everyone who performs in a play walks off the stage with a smile on their face and with a sense of pride and achievement.

“We’ve had students go on to do very well in the arts, obviously that’s incredibly satisfying. The great thing is that so many of our former students who have gone on to do amazing things often pop in to see us. Even though they’ve left us they still make time to drop by and inspire the next generation.

Members of the Gloucestershire Youth Theatre Company will spend the next few months working towards a rather unique production next spring.

Michael added: “One of the things that we try to do, again that is quite different from other theatre schools, is that it’s not about us giving our students a script and telling them to get on with learning the lines.

“We try to stay away from the over-done theatre productions. For the current production we’re working on we’ve basically given our students an opportunity to create an immersive murder mystery play.

“They can pick whatever historical period they like, the only stipulation we’ve suggested is that the audience needs to be involved so we’ll be setting the play amongst the tables and chairs that the audience will be sat on. We’re aiming to hire the Tithe Barn in Bishops Cleeve which is a great venue.

“One of the things I often to say is we’re not just creating actors but theatre makers, people who will go on to create their own work and run theatre companies in the future.”