Young Theatre Company

Applications for the 2022/23 academic year are now open. Click on the below links to apply:

Main Company (16-21 years)

Origins Company (12-16 years)

Main Company – Ages 16-21 years

The Main Company is an auditioned course for people aged 16-21 who are keen to refine their performance and devising skills and gain further experience of performing theatre in a variety of contexts.

Working within an ensemble you will be led by an experienced director and practitioner through creative, devising theatre processes which culminates in a public performance. Through practical sessions and intensive rehearsals you will build on technical and creative performance skills and explore how to apply these and develop them further within a collaborative theatre making process.

The Main Company adopts an ensemble approach to theatre practice and students are required to demonstrate commitment to rehearsals and be willing to undertake some preparation work in between classes. As with all companies, members may be required to undertake further auditions throughout the year to allocate roles within performances.

Students will also have the opportunity to perform in a range of contexts for invited and public audiences.

By the end of the course you will have:

• Improved your vocal, physical and emotional performance skills
• Undertaken in-depth character development activities
• Developed your skills in working collaboratively to create new pieces of theatre
• Been guided through the process of researching, developing and rehearsing a performance
• Worked as an ensemble with other aspiring actors and theatre makers to create polished performances.

Origins Company Ages 12-16 years

Origins Company is an auditioned course targeted towards those 12-16 year olds who are at the beginning of their journey within creating theatre and performance and are keen to learn and develop skills within devising and theatre practice.

Like the Main Company, the Origins Company will adopt an ensemble approach with students having the opportunity to build relationships and work with like-minded people. Each week the company will be led by a theatre practitioner, who will explore the techniques for devising and creating performance through live and digital media whilst developing the skills of each young performer. There will be opportunities throughout the year for small scale performances within the RCS for an invited audience.

By the end of this course you will have:

• Developed your learning and understanding of skills for creative performance
• Explored different methods and techniques for devising and creating theatre and performance
• Worked as an ensemble with other young aspiring performers within a workshop and small scale performance setting

Applicants may be placed in either company based on their experience and audition. Members of Origins will have the opportunity to progress on to the Main Company when they turn 17 years old and/or have developed sufficient skill.

Meet our Students: Molly

Molly has been a member of the Young Theatre Company for 2 years now. In this blog post she explains what it’s like, why she enjoys it so much and how it has changed the way she views theatre performance.

Read the blog.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this course, please get in touch with us at juniorsddpf@rcs.ac.uk

The Junior Conservatoire of Drama is the national centre of excellence for training young actors and preparing them for further study.

• Study in Scotland’s national conservatoire, one of the world’s top 10 performing arts education institutions
• Perform for public audiences within RCS venues
• Learn technical movement, vocal skills, script analysis and characterisation choices
• Participate in masterclasses with visiting industry professionals, RCS lecturers with many years of conservatoire-level teaching
• Receive regular feedback reports to ensure you are getting the most out of the programme
• Casting opportunities for professional jobs
• Free tickets to all RCS productions

Many of our students go on to study at top UK Performing Arts/Drama Schools; Conservatoires and Universities such as:

• Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Royal Central School of Speech & Drama
• Oxford School of Drama
• Trinity Laban
• London Contemporary Dance School
• Rose Bruford College
• Glasgow University

We will support our students with whatever pathway they choose whether that be further study within the arts; academic study or work .

2020visions

A brilliant short film by the Young Theatre Origins company, reflecting on 2020 and the performances they have been creating in response to the turbulent times.

We want to make the performing arts as accessible as possible.

Anyone who faces financial barriers to participate in the Junior Conservatoire can apply at any time, whether at acceptance to a course or during the course, for a bursary or scholarship.

Please take the time to refer to this bursary and scholarship criteria.

For anyone who requires a bursary or scholarship please email JuniorsDDPF@rcs.ac.uk and you will be sent an application form.

We will try to support as many students as possible to attend the Junior Conservatoire training and therefore may not be able to cover full student fees.

These funds are currently supported by the generosity of individuals and charitable trusts including:

• James McAvoy Drama Scholarship
• Agnes Allan Bursary
• Cambuslang Rotary Club Bursary
• Bill and Margaret Nicol

We want to ensure everyone has an opportunity to apply for the Young Theatre Company programme so we will audition every student who applies on time.

When to apply

Application for entry to the Junior Conservatoire Acting programme in August 2022 will are currently open.

All applications should be completed online and there is an audition fee of £45. If an applicant is applying for multiple courses they will only need to pay one audition fee.  If you need financial support to pay for the audition/s fee please contact us at juniorsddpf@rcs.ac.uk 

Audition dates

All auditions for the Junior Conservatoire Acting programme will be held mid-June 2022.

Question?

If you have any questions about the Junior Conservatoire or the application process, please don’t hesitate to contact us at juniorsddpf@rcs.ac.uk.

What to wear

You should come to class wearing clothes suitable for movement work, and which do not restrict the body.

What to bring

Please bring along bottled water to keep hydrated during rehearsals. You may also find it useful to bring a notepad and pen to take notes.

Term Dates 2022/23

Student induction- 20th August 2022

Term 1- 27 Aug- 16th December 2022 (no sessions from 8-21st October)

Term 2- 7th January- 31st March 2023 (no session 11-17th Feb)

Term 3- 15th April- 16th June 2023

Performance opportunities – TBC