Theatre Festivals: Children and Young People
Children's International Theatre Festival
Over 13,000 young people children and families throughout Scotland participated in the Children's International Theatre Festival in 2005. The 2006 festival boasts tales of witches, of flying monkeys, even taller tales about giraffes and clouds with attitude. This year's Festival has attracted some of the finest companies in children's performing arts that the world has to offer. It promises lots of treats for children and young people across Scotland. For the first time ever, the Festival is bringing a show specifically aimed at 1-3 year olds.
Over seven days, in five venues across Edinburgh, there is an opportunity to see 13 award-winning productions from France, Germany, Denmark, England, Scotland, Italy and the Netherlands. The Festival then tours throughout Scotland with five of the companies.
From Scotland, Plutôt la Vie make a welcome return to Edinburgh with A Clean Sweep, which was a huge hits at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The award-winning Dundee Rep Ensemble and Scottish Dance Theatre, Freshmess, and Visible Fictions will also appear. The 2006 festival takes place between 23 and 29 May.
Scottish Youth Theatre Summer Festival
Summer Festival takes place during the school holidays in various locations around Scotland and involves theatrical training for a number of weeks, during which participants are treated like part of a professional theatre company.
Last year over 300 participants took part in the Scottish Youth Theatre Summer Festival, which celebrated the bicentenerary of the the birth of Hans Christian Andersen by performing three of his most famous and well loved tales.
The 2006 Festival will take place from 3 July to 5 August. It will include a five week Performance and Production Course, two week residential Foundation Courses, a non-residential foundation course, and a specialist skills course. Scottish Youth Theatre is excited to announce the inclusion of a brand new course - the three week Intermediate Performance Course. For more details and for locations, visit the Scottish Youth Theatre website.
Promote YT National Festival of Youth Theatre
The maiden Promote YT National Festival of Youth Theatre took place in July 2005 and was attended by well over 100 young people and practitioners from all over Scotland and beyond.
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The three day programme of productions encapsulated a dynamic range of ages, styles, talents and nationalities. A programme of skills workshops in beat box, street dance, circus skills and stage fighting supplemented the event. On the Saturday, all the youth theatres and practitioners participating in the festival collaborated on a street parade through the streets of Alloa. A stunning performance of a devised piece of dance theatre created under the artistic guidance of Frantic Assembly closed the festival on the Sunday and was a fitting end to a weekend of energy, creativity and participation. |
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Keep and eye on the Promote YT website for information on the Promote YT National Festival of Youth Theatre 2006.
The first day-long Gaelic Youth Theatre Festival for children and young people took place in February 2006. The project is a collaboration between Eden Court and Fèis Rois, with support from Bord na Gaidhlig. Groups of young people rehearsed and performed short plays/extracts in Gaelic. It is hoped that the project will be followed by a full-scale version in 2007.
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