Torch Youth Theatre Inspires Katya

My name is Katya Foster and I'm 14 years old. I joined the Torch Youth Theatre just before Christmas. When I first joined Torch Youth, I quickly realised that it was nothing like my other drama groups. I find the Torch Youth to be so much fun, and everyone so welcoming.

Our Youth Director, Tim Howe, allows us to have a lot of freedom when it comes to ourselves and our acting. One thing Tim did say a lot of while we were working on our production of Replica, and when as actors we were stuck making a decision on how we acted something, it was "Actor’s Choice."

Tim was always encouraging us to act on our instincts and to do what we felt was right. This allowed us to express our own ideas and as someone who has a lot of ideas, I really enjoyed that Tim allowed us to do this. This is one of the reasons I love coming to Torch Youth Theatre because we have freedom and Tim doesn't treat us like kids nor adults but lets us have our own responsibility.

Another reason I love Torch Youth so much is because of the opportunities it has given me. I am in 4 drama groups including Torch Youth and it has by far been the most helpful when it comes to my acting career. Not only does it give me the opportunity to take part in shows, but we go on tour with our show Replica in Aberystwyth as part of the Youth Theatre Festival. We also gain acting qualification for doing so and I’ve had a lot of lines to learn and act. 

In my other shows, I haven’t had many words to say, but in Replica, despite there only being at least three main characters, everyone was given the opportunity to show their skills and because of that sense of inclusion for everyone I am grateful for Torch Youth.

Another thing I love about Torch Youth is the friends I've made. Everyone is so welcoming and have their own each distinct personality, but we all share our love for drama and that is what has brought us together. Everyone was so mature when it comes to acting and working on ideas for Replica and as someone who came in late to Replica everyone was so helpful when explaining to me what the show was about. And I think I can say this for all my friends at Torch Youth that the Torch is very significant to us all. It’s where we can have fun and laughter with each other but also a time where we can be serious about our future acting careers. The Torch is a place where they help and encourage us to accomplish things to help us with our acting careers such as learning skills and gaining acting qualifications.

I've learnt many skills from Torch Youth especially with the help of Tim and Ceri. When rehearsing Replica I struggled with trying to learn who my character was, and Tim and Ceri really helped me with that by talking to me individually and focusing on me. And that’s another good thing about the Torch, is that Tim and Ceri spoke with us individually and as a group to help us with anything we needed throughout the rehearsals.

We went into a lot of depth with Replica. We didn't just go over our lines, but we spent one whole session trying to figure out the timeline to give us actors a better understanding of what happens and when in the play.

I think it would be amazing for other people to join the Torch Youth Theatre so that they can be given the amazing opportunities that Torch Youth offers and feel comfortable in the friendly community that we have here.