SYT Committee
Shropshire Youth Theatre is possibly the only youth theatre in the country run by a central committee of young people. The SYT committee is elected every year at the AGM (Annual General Meeting) in April. When a post becomes available, a new student can put themselves forward for the role. There are many different roles and responsibilities on the committee, and students that wish to be elected are required to give a short presentation demonstrating their suitability for the position. The entire SYT company then votes for their chosen candidate.
The committee meets roughly every two weeks to discuss matters relating to the running of the company. They are responsible for selecting the main production for the next year, making decisions on the marketing of our events and managing our presence on social media. They can also suggest workshops and activities for our summer term, and help us to fundraise for the company. Above all, they represent us at public events, and are often our voice when it comes to radio and media appearances.
The committee for 2017-2018 are:
Name: Lara Humphreys
Position on the committee: Chair
Name: Abbie Townend
Position on the committee: Vice Chair
Name: Fyfe Irwin
Position on the committee: Secretary
Name: Jenny Everall
Position on the committee: Treasurer
Name: Tiah McGregor
Position on the committee: Media
Name: Leo Needham
Position on the committee: Junior Rep
Name: Elliot Auxant
Position on the committee: General Member
Name: Ruth Streetly
Position on the committee: General member
Name: Dan Martindale
Position on the committee: General member
Name: Sam Marcroft
Position on the committee: General member
Name: Maggie Love
Position on the committee: Board of Directors
Name: Lisa Morris
Position on the committee: Board of Directors
What are your main responsibilities? As the second adult on the committee, my role is to support the students in their decision making. Having an adult on the committee means that students can be advised on what the outcomes of their decisions might be, and I can offer advice and suggestions that help our company go further, and one-to-one support when we’re focusing on specific tasks and projects, like the restructuring of the website.
What inspired you to become further involved in the running of SYT? Since the moment I joined SYT, I tried to get on the committee, but never quite got voted in as a student. Now I’m an adult I’m in a very different position. The responsibility is slightly different, but we’re all here to guarantee that there will always be an SYT for students to attend in years to come.
What has been the highlight of your time at SYT? Working on and performing in Marat/Sade. This production completely changed my life, and was the moment I truly realised I wanted to work in theatre. It was a very unique production, performed in the round at The Music Hall, which is now the museum in Shrewsbury. We were really pushed to our limits on this project, and it showed me another side to performance that I really wanted to pursue.