Welcome to the UK's largest community owned theatre
The Hippodrome Youth Theatre or HYT for short is the youth section of TAODS. Formed in 1981 the youth theatre has gone from strength to strength and they love entertaining the lovely people who come along to support the wonderful young people we have here at the Hippodrome.
We cover everything from full scale musicals to contemporary drama and learning stage craft and production skills. We’re not a drama club that does different dancing and singing workshops every week, we actually work towards staging a full production whilst learning about every aspect of theatre. At HYT we give our members the opportunity to experience putting on a full scale show in a real theatre with an audience. Nothing can compete with that!
HYT is a fantastic opportunity for young people to learn new skills and grow in confidence. The testament to our success is in the reality that many of our adult members and performers are home-grown from our youth section. We even have a significant number who have gone on to work professionally in the world of theatre. If you are interested in joining the Hippodrome Youth Theatre then you can find out more about our two youth groups and how to join below.
HYT Juniors
HYT Juniors is for children aged school years 4-6. There is absolutely no need for any prior experience, just a healthy interest in theatre and a level of dedication to attend each week.
Juniors meet every Monday in term time 6pm-7pm at the theatre, the only exception to this is during "show weeks". The aim of Juniors is to develop and foster a love of all areas of theatre. We run weekly workshops that cover acting, singing and dancing but also the wider aspects of theatre such as make-up and wardrobe workshops, set design and props.
We audition for Juniors annually at the beginning of September and the sessions run throughout the year until the end of July. If your child is interested in joining HYT Juniors and will be in Year 4-6 in the coming September then you can apply to join the waiting list by completing the form below.
HYT
HYT is our senior youth section and is open to young people aged 11 (Year 7) to 21. There is absolutely no need for prior experience but young people who are interested in coming to join us should have a healthy interest in theatre and be prepared to take on the commitment that is required.
Unlike many drama groups who run stand alone workshops; for the majority of the year HYT is focussed on rehearsing for a full scale musical that has all the elements of our adult productions. This means that we expect our members to be committed to HYT and prioritise the meetings, especially during "show mode". When we are not in "show mode" we workshops to help develop and hone the stage skills of our members.
HYT meets every Monday in term time 7.30pm-9.30pm throughout the year, the only exception to this is during "show weeks" where we occasionally may miss a week. When we are working towards our annual show we also meet on Thursday evenings 7.30-9.30pm and Sunday afternoons. During the summer holidays we also usually have a number of day time rehearsals where we work around our members holiday dates as best we can. Please bear this in mind when deciding whether you want to join us. We do have good relationships with other local groups and manage to co-exist for the benefit of young people pursuing a variety of interests.
If you are interested in joining HYT you can apply to join our waiting list below. We cannot guarantee to audition each year as once you are in HYT - You're in! We do not make all members re-audition each year as you become one of our theatre family. Therefore auditions are held when spaces are available. Often this does happen each year and auditions usually take place in January. If you are interested in joining HYT and will be in Year 7 or above in the coming January please complete the form below.
