GSA students secure places at National Youth Theatre

  28 May, 2020

Staff and students at George Salter Academy are celebrating the news that four of their students have been given places at the prestigious National Youth Theatre.

Prior to lockdown, a number of students had the opportunity to work with an Associate Artist from NYT who visited the Academy to undertake auditions as part of their nationwide search for new and emerging talent. A rigorous audition process was undertaken, which included a three-hour aptitude workshop, monologue performances and one-to-one interviews. Competition for places is fierce, with the company touring around 90 venues including theatres, community groups and youth groups. They audition up to 6000 young people each year before narrowing down their selection to just 500-750 students, who then undertake a summer intake course before becoming company members.

The four successful students, Tyrese Haynes (16), Louis Elsmore (17), Chenai Murray (14) and Abi Otesanya (14), will now participate in a weeklong remote online course with professionals from NYT. This will then be followed by access to professional auditions, workshops, mentoring opportunities and castings until the age of 26. NYT boasts a host of prolific alumni from the industry which includes Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Day Lewis, Daniel Craig and Matt Lucas. 

Soon-to-be NYT member Tyrese Haynes said:

‘I am thrilled and proud.  The best piece of advice I can give is be prepared to take risks. If you have the right attitude, it doesn’t matter what you do or where you come from – you can succeed.’ 

Miss Clark, Head of Drama at George Salter Academy said:

‘The news that four of our talented Drama students have successfully auditioned for a place within the leading youth theatre organisation in the country is just phenomenal.  This outcome is testament to the tremendous resilience, determination, and creativity of our young people at George Salter Academy and the wonderfully committed teachers that have helped them on their journey to success. A massive well done to all those students who demonstrated fantastic bravery and creativity in auditioning for NYT and Tyrese, Louis, Chenai and Abi for being accepted into such a prestigious arts intuition. 


Category: News

Tags: , ,