Audition day kicks off the new season and our workshops give us the chance to meet young actors from across Merton, catch-up with familiar faces and to have lots of fun.
Main stage, New Wimbledon Theatre. It’s an impressive space.
We were thrilled, on Sunday 09 September, to welcome energy-filled groups of young people through the stage door, and onto the boards of this iconic south London theatre…
…and we wanted to give you a behind the scenes peek at our auditions for the 2018-2019 season of the WCTT Young Actors Company.
The Young Actors Company is usually based in New Wimbledon Theatre’s Time & Leisure Studio, so our company members have the experience of rehearsing and learning in a working theatre every week. There are times, like this year’s auditions, when we meet or rehearse in the main theatre, giving our members the chance to flex their creative muscle on an even bigger stage.
In our workshop auditions, the directors and their assistants use an informal hour of ice-breakers, games and physical theatre to see how the young actors work as a team, how they respond to direction and the kind of ideas they come up with when they’re expressing themselves.
As a member of the Young Actors Company, young people might contribute to devising a piece of theatre, go out into the community to work with schools and groups, or perform on a world-class stage. Our directors are looking for company members who will relish those challenges.
These auditions aren’t a “test”: they’re designed to be upbeat, relaxed and full of laughter. It’s just as important for the directors to see how much fun the young actors have on stage, as it is to spot their potential talent.
As with most years at the Young Actors Company in Wimbledon, we had more applicants than places to offer. Every young person who attended the audition showed us bags of energy, enthusiasm and talent: so, if you didn’t get offered a place this year, we hope you’ll try again next September.
Choosing the company for a new season is certainly a serious business, but at the end of audition day, the team has the chance to reflect on the audition – and catch-up after the summer.
This is probably the only chance our directors have to be in the same place, at the same time, without a million other things happening, on, off and backstage.
So it would have been a shame not to see them giving it their all for a group photo…
Interested in auditioning for the Young Actors Company in Merton?
Our next intake auditions will take place in September 2019 – but if you’re interested in joining the company, or finding out more about WCTT and how we make a difference in the Merton community, we’d love to hear from you.
It’s free to audition for the Young Actors Company – and membership is also completely free of charge.
We need your support to keep offering the young people of Merton a safe space in an increasingly challenging world; a place where they can make new friends, express their creativity and fulfil their potential. Donations we receive help us to offer the Young Actors Company free of charge, so this valuable and creative resource is available to all young people across Merton, regardless of their experience, schooling or background.
Click here to donate now and show your support for our amazing young actors.