National Youth Theatre Success
Published on isbi School News dated Thursday 5th of May 2016
Bishop's Stortford College pupil Ryan Land, who is in the Lower Sixth from Ware in Hertfordshire, has been awarded a much sought-after place at the National Youth Theatre this summer. In February, Ryan auditioned for the fourth consecutive year; the first time when he was just 13. He travelled to London where he took part in a workshop before his individual audition. Ryan explains: ‘The workshop was really great fun as it involved unusual warm-up games that taught me lots of techniques to help me explore characters. For the audition, everyone prepared a two minute speech from a published play. As I knew they liked to see something less familiar, I chose a piece from a play I had seen in Edinburgh the previous summer called 'A Gambler's Guide to Dying', rather than something more conventional.’ Despite the nerves, Ryan said how much he enjoyed the overall experience: ‘I really enjoyed the whole audition day as you are around a lot of like-minded people who are very friendly and easy to get on with - my advice to anyone auditioning is not to be scared, go and talk to others. Throw yourself into the workshop from the start too; not only are you judged on the workshop as well as your audition, but also you will get a lot more out the day.’ The auditions also offer the opportunity to meet ambassadors who are members of NYT, people who have been successful in their auditions in previous years. Ryan commented ‘I would really recommend asking them some questions as they have been through exactly the same thing and they can give you an insight into how great it is to be a member.’ Following the audition, Ryan had a very tense two month wait for the outcome: ‘When the email finally came through it was a real surprise - I genuinely was not expecting to be accepted.’ Ryan now has a place on an intensive two week course in London during the summer holiday. He will then become a full member of the National Youth Theatre and will be able to audition for any of their future productions. Ryan says: ‘I could not be more excited to take part in the course and be a member of NYT! The whole process is something I would highly recommend to any young actor as I have learnt so much from attending the auditions. If you don't get in the first time - keep trying! It took me four years and I think that often they just want to see how committed an actor is to what they do.’ Mr Norman, Head of Drama at the College, commented: 'What a brilliant achievement for Ryan. Well-deserved too of course. The NYT summer school has been established for 60 years as a nurturing environment for young actors and alumni include Daniel Craig, Helen Mirren and Colin Firth! Thousands of young people audition every year for the opportunity to take a wide variety of classes before joining the NYT Company and being cast in plays performed in professional venues in London. Ryan is a gifted young actor and his boundless creative enthusiasm will undoubtedly ensure he has a wonderful summer.’
