{"id":2514,"date":"2017-07-19T11:30:46","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T11:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/?p=2514"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:39:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:39:21","slug":"playing-up-at-the-nyt-alternative-training-for-young-performers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/training\/playing-up-at-the-nyt-alternative-training-for-young-performers\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing Up at the NYT: Alternative Training for Young Performers"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>An insight into the Playing Up course at the National Youth Theatre<\/h2>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nyt.org.uk\/courses\/playing-up\">Playing Up course<\/a>\u00a0is an access to education course provided by the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nyt.org.uk\/\">National Youth Theatre<\/a>. It offers aspiring actors between the ages of 19 and 25 a 10-month training programme, specifically for young people not in education, employment or training. On completion, there is the opportunity to gain an Access to Higher Education Diploma in Theatre Arts, which is equivalent to 2 \u2018A\u2019 Levels.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke to Joshua Asar\u00e9 (21), Stephen Teelan (25), Rachel Pooley (24), Alice Amorim De Matos Vilanculo (23), Dionne Brown (21) and Abby Russell (20). This talented young bunch had plenty to say about what the course offers you, why it\u2019s worth applying come April, and what you can expect from this great programme. Their final performance\u00a0Three\u00a0is at the Arcola from the 20<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0to 22<sup>nd<\/sup>\u00a0July so take a look online to find out more!<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"quoteMacro style1 noAuthorImage\">\n<div class=\"quoteText\">\n<div class=\"quoteTextInner\">We have an opportunity to play \u2013 I know it sounds cheesy. But we\u2019re actors, we want to explore, we want to play and I\u2019ve spoken to previous Playing Up members who went on to drama school or other training, where they don\u2019t have the freedom to play as much as we do here. It\u2019s a big blessing to also learn about the craft, but also learn what type of actor you want to be.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer>\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorInformation\">\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorName\">Alice Amorim De Matos Vilanculo<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-replace hoverZoomLink\" src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_1536,c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1625\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-132.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_{width},c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1625\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-132.jpg\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What made you want to pursue acting?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Dionne:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s what I\u2019m good at, and it\u2019s fun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rachel:<\/strong>\u00a0It makes you feel good, like you\u2019re doing something that\u2019s worthwhile \u2013 you\u2019re good at something. At school, it was the only thing anyone told me I was good at. It makes you more confident as well, because I was a very shy kid.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What made you want to do Playing Up specifically?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Dionne:<\/strong>\u00a0I did secondary school, went to college and did Performing Arts and then took a gap year. After the gap year I went to university and did Drama, but left the course. I didn\u2019t agree with what I was being taught &#8211; I guess it\u2019s ok for some people, I wouldn\u2019t knock it, but I personally did not agree with the format I was being taught in. It was very theoretical, and drama isn\u2019t, as far as I\u2019m concerned. I wasn\u2019t having fun, and drama is about playing, exploring and seeing what you can do next. It just became a bit too predictable for me. I didn\u2019t like it so I left. I wasn\u2019t really sure what I was going to do but one of my close friends was on this course already. He told me about it and that\u2019s why I\u2019m here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abby:<\/strong>\u00a0I did secondary school, my A-Levels. Left, had a gap year. Didn\u2019t really do much. When you\u2019re having a gap year you kind of lose touch with drama, because adult classes are a bit rubbish sometimes and expensive. Where I was in Sheffield, there wasn\u2019t really that much to do, unfortunately. You also make excuses. I was working in a Wetherspoons. Then I got into this course \u2013 I took the Megabus down the next day. It was an overnight decision that changed my life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019d always heard about it but I couldn\u2019t find much about it online. I didn\u2019t know exactly what it was or how great it could be. I did secondary school, then half of college and then I just one day thought, \u201cWhy am I actually doing this?\u201d I\u2019ve got to this place now where I think if I\u2019m not doing something I enjoy, the best thing is just to not do it and try something else. Which is why I\u2019m here. I came across Playing Up because I am already a member [of the NYT]. I emailed Emily [Doherty, who teaches Playing Up] one day and asked if I could do it, she told me to come for an interview. I think she thought I wasn\u2019t here to stay, but I\u2019d already decided I was doing this course!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-replace hoverZoomLink\" src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_1536,c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1629\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-510.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_{width},c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1629\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-510.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Stephen:<\/strong>\u00a0I started at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.londonbubble.org.uk\/\">London Bubble Theatre Company<\/a>\u00a0first, then\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sohotheatre.com\/\">Soho Theatre<\/a>, then\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youngvic.org\/\">Young Vic<\/a>, then the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oldvictheatre.com\/\">Old Vic<\/a>, then I found out about this course, Playing Up. I came for an audition, got the call and got on the course. I was bouncing around courses instead of going to drama school. I wanted to do this course so then I can do REP\u00a0[at the NYT].<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rachel:<\/strong>\u00a0After I left secondary school I went to college. They were always bringing in teachers to teach us new modules and stuff, and for one, they were talking about the National Youth Theatre. At the time I didn\u2019t apply, I don\u2019t know why. There were other things I wanted to do \u2013 I was auditioning for drama school, but once I didn\u2019t get into any, I moved on to the London Bubble Theatre Company. Even at Bubble, NYT was always there. Eventually I found out how to apply for the course, I auditioned and the person who auditioned me was Sophie Ellerby\u00a0&#8211; she thought I was really great. A few months later I got into the intake course for the summer and then they told me I should do Playing Up as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice:<\/strong>\u00a0I did secondary school, went to college to study Media History and Theatre Studies. College was not a good time for me \u2013 academically, I just wasn\u2019t really in it. But I finished, worked for a couple of years and realised I wasn\u2019t really as involved with theatre as much as I wanted to be. I just thought, \u201cWhy am I doing these dead-end jobs? There\u2019s something that I really enjoy and I\u2019ve been told I\u2019m good at, but I\u2019m not entertaining that, I\u2019m just living, earning money\u2026\u201d An ex-Playing Up member told me that there\u2019s this course that would fit me and it\u2019s really great. I nearly never came because I had this fear of auditions, but I did and here we are today.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"quoteMacro style1 noAuthorImage\">\n<div class=\"quoteText\">\n<div class=\"quoteTextInner\">It does give you a platform. Before I would have thought, \u201cNo way.\u201d But now\u2026 I had no network or contacts before, and now I\u2019ve got a lot. A lot of us are interested in making our own work.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer>\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorInformation\">\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorName\">Abby Russell<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>What do you think you learned on the programme?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Abby:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019ve just learned about people, and myself. I know it sounds silly. I\u2019ve learned a lot about my faults, habits, little things \u2013 I\u2019ve been in situations I\u2019ve never been in before. I moved as well, so living on my own\u2026 I wasn\u2019t doing much in Sheffield but now I feel like I\u2019ve really been learning a lot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice:<\/strong>\u00a0Confidence. We have modules that we go through, and I learned a lot about habits. Having had the fear of auditioning &#8211; I think I still have it, but I have strategies now, that we learned. There was this specific term where we focused on audition technique, which drilled some of those things in. We definitely learn to work with people who might have a very different lifestyle to you, or not the same background as you. Not even the same aims as you. I think it\u2019s reinforced why I\u2019m pushing for it now, it can be a bit uncomfortable and there are aspects of the industry where I think, \u201cI don\u2019t know if I agree with that.\u201d In the end, you have to love [acting]!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abby:<\/strong>\u00a0Yeah, you have to love it. Now that I\u2019ve done this I realise just how much I didn\u2019t know. Before I thought I was acting, but now I realise I knew nothing. Just small things like learning how to properly tackle a monologue. If I\u2019d have tried to go to a drama school, I\u2019d have literally got a mirror, learned the lines. Now I know you\u2019ve got to do intentions, etc. You\u2019re becoming more knowledgeable because of the things you\u2019re doing. I can look at the others and realise what they are doing too \u2013 I get a sense of what is going on in the industry.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-replace hoverZoomLink\" src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_1536,c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1626\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-239.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_{width},c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1626\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-239.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong>\u00a0Also, with what Alice was saying before about the industry not being like the greatest place sometimes, and there being some questionable things\u2026 I think this course is like a microcosm of the industry as a whole, because we come in and there are some parts that we don\u2019t enjoy that much. But it\u2019s great that we all haven\u2019t had a 100% positive time of it \u2013 when you get out there, there are going to be some people who you don\u2019t like, we are going to be doing some things we don\u2019t like at the beginning to get in the door, but it\u2019s nice that we\u2019ve got this chance to learn that now and we know then what to expect. None of us are going to be surprised.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice:<\/strong>\u00a0We have an opportunity to play \u2013 I know it sounds cheesy. But we\u2019re actors, we want to explore, we want to play and I\u2019ve spoken to previous Playing Up members who went on to drama school or other training, where they don\u2019t have the freedom to play as much as we do here. It\u2019s a big blessing to also learn about the craft, but also learn what type of actor you want to be.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong>\u00a0And not just about acting, also just about life. Actors get a hard time for maybe being superficial. It\u2019s not the kind of industry where if you\u2019re nice it will get you far. You just need to always be aware that it sometimes isn\u2019t fair. You\u2019ve just got to deal with it. One day you\u2019ll be in a room with people that all know that as well, and that\u2019s when it can start to change. We have someone on this course who refers to themselves as non-gender binary. That is something that I thought I was very open-minded about and knew about, but obviously when someone has that identity you have to respect that. And if you haven\u2019t met someone like that you don\u2019t understand it totally \u2013 now that I\u2019ve met them, I\u2019ll know how to treat them and how to maybe even portray them in future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abby:<\/strong>\u00a0I think there\u2019s a similarly low representation of working class people [in the industry]. Majority of us are from that sort of background \u2013 we want to have our voice heard as well.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"quoteMacro style1 noAuthorImage\">\n<div class=\"quoteText\">\n<div class=\"quoteTextInner\">Know that this is an Access to Higher Education course, but that it\u2019s not as naff as all the other ones. It\u2019s practical and it\u2019s in London \u2013 we had Paterson Joseph in earlier! It\u2019s proper\u2026 Just know that it\u2019s access to doing something else, whether it\u2019s making your own work or making connections or going to drama school. Whatever you want to do with it.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer>\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorInformation\">\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorName\">Joshua Asar\u00e9<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>What would you like to tackle next, once you finish the Playing Up course? Do you plan to make your own work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Dionne:<\/strong>\u00a0Holiday first. Remember to live, then act.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rachel:<\/strong>\u00a0I would like to continue at the NYT, definitely do more projects\u00a0here, then the REP.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice:<\/strong>\u00a0If jobs come, that\u2019s a blessing, but for me personally, after being in this course, I just sort of want to go into other fields in the arts as well \u2013 it\u2019s given me a taste of other things, but the main focus will be acting and training and hopefully REP!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Do you feel working with the NYT has given you access to a network or resources to help you achieve that?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Abby:<\/strong>\u00a0Definitely \u2013 even the other day I was with [Sophie Ellerby], and she told me I could always come to her and talk through ideas. It does give you a platform. Before I would have thought, \u201cNo way.\u201d But now\u2026 I had no network or contacts before, and now I\u2019ve got a lot. A lot of us are interested in making our own work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s just finding the time now to do it!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-replace hoverZoomLink\" src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_1536,c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1627\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-322.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_{width},c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1627\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-322.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What\u2019s been the highlight of this experience?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Abby:<\/strong>\u00a0The people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rachel:<\/strong>\u00a0Even if we can get on each other\u2019s nerves\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dionne:<\/strong>\u00a0But that\u2019s love though, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abby:<\/strong>\u00a0I call them family \u2013 I see them as family now. That bond when you\u2019re doing such intense work with people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong>\u00a0As an actor that is something that we crave \u2013 like when you get to be part of a company. We\u2019re all together, and before we started rehearsing [for Three] we\u2019ve had a long while to get to know each other. That\u2019s something you don\u2019t get a lot. Sometimes you\u2019re just going to meet people you\u2019re going to work with on the first day of rehearsal, but we\u2019ve got a connection now. Something like this just closes the degrees of separation \u2013 we know loads of people through NYT, through knowing any one person here.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"quoteMacro style1 noAuthorImage\">\n<div class=\"quoteText\">\n<div class=\"quoteTextInner\">It doesn\u2019t mean that just because you do this course that you have to be an actor. You might discover that you want to be a writer or a facilitator\u2026 It\u2019s a great opportunity, and if you don\u2019t know what to do [but you enjoy acting], just do this and you never know where the path will lead.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer>\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorInformation\">\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorName\">Stephen Teelan<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>Do you have any advice for others considering this course? Or other young performers wondering what to do next?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong>\u00a0Know that this is an Access to Higher Education course, but that it\u2019s not as naff as all the other ones. It\u2019s practical and it\u2019s in London \u2013 we had Paterson Joseph\u00a0in earlier! It\u2019s proper. You can go to drama school afterwards if you want. Something that I\u2019ve noticed in drama school auditions this year is that rejection doesn\u2019t hurt as much, I have this to come back to. A couple of years ago it felt like the end of the road.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice:<\/strong>\u00a0And Playing Up provides the means to go to drama school.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong>\u00a0Yeah that\u2019s the other thing \u2013 they help with auditions and stuff, I\u2019ve saved hundreds of pounds. Just know that it\u2019s access to doing something else, whether it\u2019s making your own work or making connections or going to drama school. Whatever you want to do with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stephen:<\/strong>\u00a0I would say the same: Just try it. It doesn\u2019t mean that just because you do this course that you have to be an actor. You might discover that you want to be a writer or a facilitator\u2026 It\u2019s a great opportunity, and if you don\u2019t know what to do [but you enjoy acting], just do this and you never know where the path will lead.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-replace hoverZoomLink\" src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_1536,c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1628\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-495.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_{width},c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1628\/helenmurray-nyt-three-rehearsals-dir-anna-niland-495.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rachel:<\/strong>\u00a0I would say just join every youth group going \u2013 you\u2019ve got to have your fingers in every pie. Be open to everything.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice:<\/strong>\u00a0I would say if you are like me and you were struggling to get out of your house, just go: you never know, this might not be for you but you will learn something. Whether it was something you were intending to learn or not. I think it\u2019s a great course that a lot of people can benefit from, it\u2019s very accessible and it provides you with many opportunities \u2013 some that you would never think you\u2019d get. It\u2019s a good starting point, definitely. If you\u2019re wondering, just go for it \u2013 there\u2019s nothing you can lose. Not even the travel!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dionne:<\/strong>\u00a0Do your research. You can google things and get a lot of results, but ask questions \u2013 if you\u2019re able to go to a theatre and speak to the receptionists, just ask questions. Relax, you\u2019re young \u2013 don\u2019t stress so much. There\u2019s a lot of comparison [in this industry]; I might do a monologue and think, \u201cAlice didn\u2019t do it that way,\u201d but Alice is doing Alice, and I am doing Dionne. I can\u2019t do it how she did, that\u2019s not going to change. Just focus on yourself, do what you can do. It\u2019s not a competition, it\u2019s not a race. We\u2019re all going to get to different spots at different times; Abby could get there in 10 days and I could get there in 10 years. If that\u2019s the way it has to be, then that\u2019s the way it has to be. Take your time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abby:<\/strong>\u00a0You know sometimes when you\u2019ve got your head set on something? When I was in Sheffield I auditioned for this thing and I was dead set that I was going to be in it and it would be absolutely amazing. Then I got the email that I didn\u2019t get it and I thought, \u201cOh my god.\u201d A few days later I got a call for Playing Up. If you think you\u2019ve got your head down one route, it might not be the case \u2013 something might pop up. I describe this as the golden ticket \u2013 it has been that for me. It\u2019s been living the dream, moving here. Don\u2019t focus too much on the practicalities of it. My mum was saying, \u201cAbby, come on, you\u2019re going to have to live on your friend\u2019s sofa, it\u2019s not going to work.\u201d But I thought, absolutely. Just do it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice:<\/strong>\u00a0And we have a lot of fun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dionne:<\/strong>\u00a0When you think about some of the laughs we\u2019ve had! The fun we\u2019ve had.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice:<\/strong>\u00a0We play at Playing Up.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>The Playing Up students will be performing Sophie Ellerby\u2019s Three from the 20<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0to the 22<sup>nd<\/sup> of July 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Image credits: Helen Murray<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An insight into the Playing Up course at the National Youth Theatre The\u00a0Playing Up course\u00a0is an access to education course provided by the\u00a0National Youth Theatre. It offers aspiring actors between the ages of 19 and 25 a 10-month training programme, specifically for young people not in education, employment or training. On completion, there is the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[85,107,81,70],"class_list":["post-2514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-training","tag-christina-care","tag-london","tag-theatre","tag-young-performers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NYT Playing Up: Drama Training | Spotlight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how the National Youth Theatre\u2019s Playing Up course offers young performers an alternative route to professional drama training.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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