Act, write and much more with our Young Company

The Heat&Light Company is made up of budding performers, writers, directors, stage managers and technicians aged 10 to 25. Each term up to four groups come together to explore the power and potential of theatre in ways which reflect the artistic practice at Hampstead. In the past our groups have worked with writers including: Tamsin Oglesby, Gabriel Bissett-Smith, Kieran Lynn, Matt Hartley, Phil Porter, Suzanne Heathcote, Nick Grosso, Laura Lomas. Hampstead Theatre's Youth Theatre is free to all participants and produces twelve performances a year. If you would like to find out more please email creativelearning@hampsteadtheatre.com.

The Heat&Light company is free to all participants and produces twelve performances a year. The artistic direction of each youth theatre project is led by the Creative Direction Team, (CDT) which consists of members of the heat&light company. Their responsibilities mirror the roles in hampsteadtheatre's artistic, production and administration teams.

Amy, a member of the Creative Direction Team, wrote about her experiences with Heat&Light this year:

In spring 2009 the heat&light age 14-18 group selected four writers from the company to work together and devise 4 short plays. They came up with a futuristic theme, each short play being 10 years from the next. They involved young people like ourselves on one local bus- the 'C11'.  These plays followed their journeys and watched as discipline, communication and rules changed throughout each decade. The stage was set as the back seats of a bus, with minor details changing between each short play.

We found this play thoroughly enjoyable as the settings and themes were familiar to every cast member and we could relate to the characters.

The summer 2009 project was a different experience for most of the 14-18 age group, as we chose a theme and developed our ideas into a devised show to perform to a 'play scheme' audience of  7-11 year olds.

We decided on a performance about the everyday lives of 4 Superheroes and 1 Supervillan as we thought the fun, flamboyant theme would interest the young audience.

There were two performances to the play scheme audiences and after each one we did a 20 minute workshop with them, based on the theme of Superheroes.  The audience was split into 5 groups, and each group was allocated a team leader from the cast and a few other members of the company. We devised a few activities and prepared them for a mini showcase to the other children at the workshop.

As a team leader, I found it a very rewarding experience to work with the young children and inspire them to express and show their acting abilities.
 

As part of the Stepping Up program, in April of this year, budding actors from the 14-18s age group had the privilege of participating in a question and answer session with Hollywood actor Michael Sheen.

Michael Sheen was happy to answer all of our questions, and the views and tips that he gave were very helpful, and will definitely help all of us in the future.

It was a fantastic experience to meet such an established actor and listen to his words of wisdom about how to succeed in the acting business.

I am currently a member of the Creative Direction Team (CDT) at Hampstead Theatre. There are seven of us in the team and we meet regularly to discuss ways of improving the heat&light for the young people.  We also contribute to the heat&light company by selecting writers for the commissioned plays that the young companies will perform. We write and edit a termly newsletter that is circulated to all members of the heat&light, which consists of groups of young people from school years 6-9, years 10-13, and 18-25 year olds.

As a member of the Heat&Light I have performed in 4 shows and I have been able to play different roles and characters, and become more confident with my acting. I have also made many friends over the past 2 years that I have participated, and I think that it has helped me develop my teamwork skills too.  I have thoroughly enjoyed every project I have been involved in, and always look forward to the next.

Heat&Light has inspired many children of all ages to pursue their love of acting, and continues to nurture passions of so many children. The organised groups create an encouraging, fun atmosphere for everyone involved and makes each project the most enjoyable it could possibly be.

By Amy, age 15

Patrons of the Heat&Light company:

Belinda Lang (Actor)
Roy Williams (Writer)