Scottish Youth Theatre

As someone who was a member of Scottish Youth Theatre as a teenager and who still regularly attends their productions, this organisation has gone from strength to strength!
It encourages theatre by young people for young people and allows participants the opportunity to grow and develop both as a person and in the world of theatre. This does not only include roles on stage but also the more technical roles off stage. The work produced is always to the highest of standards and I’d definitely recommend going to see a production and also, if anyone is thinking about involving themselves in youth theatre then this is a great starting point!

It is really a well equipped theatrical building for the purposes of inspiring and tutoring young people in the secrets of drama and theatre making. The tutors are extremely devoted often surrounded by shining young faces That is what I saw yesterday on my visit there. The building is also centrally located, on Brunswick street, although you might spend some time finding it among the glass windows of shops and offices in a passage running through the main building. There are at least eight theatrical studios, coloured in different hues and named after them, eg, the violet room, the silver room, etc. The theatre runs a lot od summer classes and also prepares young people for participation in youth theatre festivals throughout the year.

I have some really good memories of SYT, I went to their weekly classes for many years and met some really great friends there. In fact, a few of my best friends are the friends I met at SYT.
As well as a great opportunity for socialising, the classes were also great fun and every week was something different. Improvising, working with scripts, devising your own piece of theatre and physical performance were just some of the things that we did.
I stopped going when we got a new teacher who just talked about how much he loved himself instead of actually teaching us anything. He used to bang on and on about he got into Knightswood Theatre School but turned it down, obviously. After a couple of weeks this guys head got so big I’m surprised he could even get it through the door. I wasn’t paying £180 for a term to listen to this sad case talk about how great he was, when he clearly had never had a girlfriend and his highlight in life was bigging himself up to a class of 14 – 18 year olds.
My bad experience aside, I think that SYT is a great opportunity for young people to get involved with theatre and turn their hobby into something more meaningful. The reasonably new building is perfect for inspiration and has everything a theatre company would ever need.

The Scottish Youth theatre has a reputation for good performances and sending many people onwards and upwards to their career in theatre. The courses are accessible, run in short terms and are perfect for the more serious young actor. Being performance orientated, the classes are more than just exercises, but also escape being mere rehearsals for a set play.
The lovely, modern building also hosts a performance space, as well as studios. Classes from Dance House often come here, including Viva Misadventure’s cancan and burlesque classes.

Scottish Youth Theatre is a national organisation that both develops and promotes theatre by young people, for young people. They provide weekly workshops and full courses for those interested in performing arts. SYT teaches its students and allows them to grow and develop, so the final productions are always the collective work of the young people, expressing their voice.
I took 10-​week weekend workshops on a few different occasions, and really loved it. A friend of mine also got more involved and did one of the summer production courses, which resulted in a great wee production that they performed at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.
It’s a really fun and accepting environment for all ages and abilities, with good opportunities for moving on and becoming a workshop leader or eventually a tutor if you’re heavily involved and interested in their projects. It’s also a fantastic place to socialise, hone your skills, and meet like-​minded people.
I’ve found this organisation to be one of the best things out there for youths in Scotland, and it always makes me happy to see that they’re going strong and getting people involved in performing arts.

Scottish Youth Theatre cater for young people between 3 and 25, providing drama classes and performing opportunities throughout Scotland. They also run summer festivals in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
The main base of SYT is in Glasgow and their building has fantastic facilities for young people. There are various studio spaces for workshops and rehearsals, and a great studio theatre for performances. There is also a nice courtyard to hang out in between classes. The building is very child friendly, and geared at young people with its bright colours and pictures of past productions on the walls.
The staff themselves are all very professional. The drama tutors are all well trained and the classes are fun and challenging for children.
I would recommend SYT if you have children who are interested in drama classes as it is the cream of the crop of youth theatres in Scotland, and has an excellent purpose built venue in Glasgow city centre.