They're at the young stage

AT ONE time, all I wanted to do was act.

I loved everything to do with the theatre, so one day, in a burst of enthusiasm, I signed up to my local youth theatre group. As soon as I walked through the door I knew I had made a mistake. The other children seemed to know exactly what to do and were all incredibly loud. I migrated to the corner and managed to hide as the improvisation exercises began, determined never again to join these tights-wearing maniacs.

So when I heard recently that the number of youth theatre groups has been rising steadily throughout Britain, I was determined to find out why.

Aside from my own misgivings, with celebrities from film and television grabbing all the headlines, why would young people turn to the theatre for training? What role is left for youth theatre to play, when the emphasis is on the 'get-rich-quick' scheme of reality TV, and the fast-track to fame? What is it that inspires hordes of adolescents to fill their holidays with rehearsals, costumes and backstage nerves?

The Grand Opera House York was recently crammed with youngsters who had chosen to do just that. They were there to perform Wind In The Willows, adapted and directed by Simon Barry, a production put together in ten days.

The atmosphere outside the dressing room was electric, buzzing with hurried instructions and swarms of adolescents dressed as small woodland creatures ran down the corridors.

With several hours to go until the curtain went up on the first night, you would have expected the four actors in the leading roles - Claire Brett, Daniel Walmsley, Andrew McCarthy and Dan Styles - to be a bundle of nerves.

They already have 28 eight years on stage between them. They all hope to become professional actors, with Dan, 22, having already appeared in a production of Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge on the London fringe.

They disagree with the popular view that you need to be a certain type of person to join a youth theatre group. Claire, 19, claims she is "a bit shy", but that has not stopped her from getting up onstage.

Even for an outgoing person, however, the prospect of ten days' preparation must have been daunting. Yet Andrew, 16, says the whole experience has definitely taught him how to "cope with stress".

Daniel, also 16, agrees, saying that although youth theatre teaches the basics of acting in the theatre, it deals with a lot more than that.

"It gives you a real insight into the professional life of an actor," Dan says. "They don't teach enough about the real world in school. This is the only thing that does, really."

Claire nods in agreement, adding: "You learn how to be responsible and take things constructively, which can sometimes be hard for younger people."

Director Simon Barry - who has directed many pantomimes for the Grand Opera House - is used to working with children and young people, which helps in an environment such as this.

John Cooper has also been working with young actors for many years, after founding the Stagecoach group in York. He believes youth theatre is crucial at a time when self-esteem in young people is hitting rock-bottom.

But can youth theatre really be a climbing rope for everyone? Surely it is only those who have an interest in acting who gain something from the experience? John disagrees, believing it to be for "anybody who is willing to commit".

"Being an extrovert is fine - but it's a character you take with you onstage".

He takes it all seriously, too; for him it is about much more than cute children doing a few clumsy freeze-frames.

"We try to do a professional production", he says. For their last show he hired two choreographers to train the actors, and has devoted a lot his time teaching them the lessons of Stanislavski and other famous figures in theatre, over-turning the conventional perception that youth theatre teaches a youngster nothing more than how to wave his arms about like a tree.

Stagecoach, in common with other youth theatre groups, sends many of its actors to a larger stage: five have been accepted into leading drama schools this year alone.

Daniel Weyman joined the group when he was 15, after having taking part in many productions from the age of seven. He claims the experience "gave him a lot of confidence", standing him in good stead for the future, as well as providing a great opportunity to release energy and use his imagination.

It also allowed him to work within a group, "making close friends" as well as learning valuable lessons about teamwork. He agrees that anybody can do it, and insists, more importantly, it's "about learning to trust people and use your imagination", qualities which are becoming scarce in an age when children watch computer games and simplistic TV shows.

After graduating from the Arts Educational School in Chiswick, Daniel has taken parts in a number of West End productions, television programmes and a film for ITV, the prisoner-of-war drama Love From Colditz. He has also recently completed a drama dialogue for BBC Radio 4.

You would imagine that public support for adolescent drama would be highest in bigger cities, London or Manchester for example, but Daniel says that in his experience there is "a really good feeling for youth theatre in York", with more than just doting parents turning out for productions.

John Cooper's youth group has been so successful that it has recently been able to build a theatre, with a capacity of 130 seats, on Monkgate.

So, perhaps youth theatre doesn't sound too bad. In fact, it sounds like a great opportunity for youngsters of any age and disposition.

I wish I had just swallowed my nerves and joined in. Who knows what would have happened?

Updated: 15:45 Thursday, August 26, 2004