Stories from our Alumni

'I look back at the little boy in his duffle coat… and now I see the confident, caring, outgoing and accomplished young man in front of me.  MPYT nourished something in Buck that hadn’t been fed before, it's so lovely that he had that.

Here was a place that provided structured social interaction with people his own age - something he’d always struggled with - and it stimulated his imagination.

During that time, Buck came alive. It was as if a fire had been lit inside him.'

‘MPYT was hugely influential in the development of my career in the creative industries, a really creative stepping stone to going to film school; an experience that instilled a deep love of and insight into acting that has played out in different ways in my life, from working with actors as a director to speaking to 500 people. Growing up in a very rural environment MPYT was a beacon of hope and inspiration for a young person who wanted to be creative but couldn't quite see how to develop a career being creative. MPYT was vital to so many of us. I am now working as a head of communications, arts and engagement after 20 years in film and tv. Thank-you MPYT.’

‘MPYT had a profound impact on my life.

As a teenager it was my social group and introduced me to like minded people in a location where everyone is so spread out. I regularly still see friends from MPYT even now, 14 years after leaving.

It was the only place in mid wales that enabled me to be creative, take risks and express myself in a fun and exciting way.

In a rural and disparate community in Mid Wales, MPYT brings young people together, giving them purpose and direction as well as a chance to develop socially, and, often underestimated, an opportunity to have fun. In a time where youth services, youth clubs, community centres and school budgets have been cut, MPYT provides invaluable opportunities for the young people of Mid Wales.

I have a lot of gratitude to MPYT for the impact it has had on me and the young people of Mid Wales. Long may it continue'

‘As I got older and my interests in writing, singing and performing started to get more intense, MPYT was the obvious place to start to go and find my people.

It gave me a ready-made set of skills in problem-solving, improvising and responding in the moment - as well as just being confident in my own abilities. I don’t think I would have had any of those things had it not been for MPYT

We saw and learnt things in those workshops that really surprised us. As children, we thought our experiences at home were normal - that our environment was destined to always be that way.  Those sessions planted the idea that maybe we could have more autonomy. It was important for us, especially at that time, as ours was not a happy home. Our refuge was MPYT. Calan gave us the information and words to be able to broach the subject, and imagine a safer and brighter future for our family.'

‘Because of the focus on team and group work week in week out, you learn so much about working with other people; people who might think differently or react to things differently.  People who are much younger or older than you - you learn to be sensitive and how to collaborate. There are so many good social skills that MPYT gives people that can be applied to anything, really.

It just feels so important that young people, especially in this area, get the chance to experience theatre and performance in that way.  It's not local AMDram, or the sort of introduction you might get through something like Urdd, or the Young Farmers’ yearly panto - as a hobby or lighthearted pastime.  This is like a proper introduction to a culture, a sense of what you can expect from the professional world of theatre.

It helped me to be okay being myself. The MPYT tagline (a safe place to be dangerous) is so true for me.  MPYT was somewhere I could express myself as I wanted to with friends around me, which boosted my confidence and sense of self in the outside world too.  I started feeling so much more confident in myself as a person’

‘It’s the way the young people are involved in everything, given a voice.  Conversed with like equals.  It does something in terms of their maturity. It gives them something beyond their years somehow. Cai can talk to anybody, excellent at conversation and connecting with people - so much of that is down to MPYT.

I think the standard setting and the ideas of quality and excellence that MPYT extols are so important in fostering a sense of aspiration locally. Your audiences and your community feel it, you know? People know, even if you're not an experienced theatre goer, you know the quality when you see it. It creates such a sense of pride to see young people of your area create something of such quality.’

‘Being a part of MPYT for 6 years as a young person supported me to gain confidence in myself and my abilities. It taught me about working together as a community to create impressive pieces of theatre/art, and the drive, commitment and focus needed to do so. I hold being a part of MPYT as one of the greatest life changing experiences that shaped who I am today, it gave me a community of people who celebrated each other for our differences, and friendships which are still going strong 17 years after leaving. Every young person in a rural area like Mid-Wales deserves to have a powerful opportunity like MPYT offers to express themselves through art and build a community of celebration and acceptance.’

‘I am just really glad I had a safe space to go to as an anxiety ridden, and often low confidence teenager. I am so grateful that I had something to do that wasn't a sports club as around Llandod that does seem to be the only other option for young kids. I am happy that all my strengths, weaknesses and strangeness got the chance to be expressed in a safe space surrounded by some amazing teachers and peers who all believed in me!’

'I always say MPYT was one of the best things that has happened to me in my life. In many ways it saved me. It gave me a safe place where I could be myself and not be judged. I was accepted for me. I finally had friends… real friends that understood me. My mental health was terrible when I first joined and I was shy and quiet. MPYT gave me so much confidence and it made me find who I was. I found a hobby which I loved and was passionate about. As time went on I was able to help others who joined and learnt how to be a leader. Some of my best memories and laughs come from MPYT. I still am close with most people I met there!

Ralph/ Dani and all the team there are such great teachers and mentors and I owe so much to them for who I am today. I still miss MPYT and wish I could still be a part of it. There is no place like it. It was very much my home. So Thankyou!’

‘Honestly, MPYT saved my life. I don’t know who I would be or who I would have become without the social and artistic experiences I had at MPYT. It was fundamental in my development as a teenager and young adult, a place to express myself and learn who I am, despite what society wants you to be, and that has stayed with me my whole life.’

‘As a teenager I didn't do well in school and I was only interested in drama, art and English. MPYT taught me that working hard to create something as part of a team was worthwhile, joyous and rewarding.  I was and still am so proud of all the shows we created together.  When I was at MPYT we won the National Youth Theatre Awards twice and went to London to perform at the National Theatre - an incredibly exciting and valuable experience. We studied art and dance and music from all over the world for our productions and learned so many skills. The youth theatre opened up the world to us.

I went on to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and was a professional actress for many years before I changed career and I am now a professional playwright and screenwriter. I won places on the BBC Welsh Voices writers program and the Channel 4 Screenwriting program. I have had work produced and published by Faber. I won the George Devine Award for most promising playwright in 2021 and have several projects in development with theatres, and in television and film. The youth theatre was formative for me and I made so many friends and found my crowd. I wouldn't be where I am now without it.’

'The only way I can describe MPYT is life changing. I don't think there is a single part of my life that MPYT didn't touch, and didn't change for the better. 

I joined as an actor initially, but soon got drawn to what we started calling the dark side... technical theatre. The people I learnt from; Nick, Jill, Sue, Danny - were all just wonderful.  They were amazingly skilled, experienced people who knew so much about the industry and this whole technical world of theatre that I hadn’t been aware of. They saw my interest, and were like ‘come over here and let’s just teach you things’ - suddenly, it became something that I could do as a career.

I really wanted to join because, especially at the time, I was really struggling to find people in school who I related to. Joining was fantastic for me as - beyond all the other things that it did - socially, it was a fantastic space to be queer.  It was very supportive of that - really open, honest and exploratory. I got to learn a lot about other people and learn a lot about myself.’ 

Mary remembers the first time she encountered MPYT, with their 1992 autumn production of Raging Angels.  ‘I was absolutely captivated.  I saw it with a bunch of friends, and we were all blown away by the talent of these young people.  I was working in the high school at the time and could see the transformative effect Youth Theatre was having on the bunch of drama students who were members.

It taught my kids things, which they then taught me, that had a profound impact on all of us.

From my perspective, as a parent and as an adult bystander, one of the things that I find extraordinary is that such a tiny organisation, in a tiny Welsh rural town with incredibly limited resources can have such a powerful impact on so many people's lives. I mean its impact is so many orders of magnitude greater than one would expect from such a tiny organisation. Its fingers spread outwards so far.’

 ‘A lot of people felt like outcasts at school, but at MPYT they were the cool, confident crowd.  We were there because we got each other.  The games and exercises, the performance elements allowed us to show each other who we were, what we found funny.

It was safe.  You’d end up doing an improv skit or something and inherently building trust by doing it on repeat.  It built ties between people. We were comfortable doing silly things in front of each other. It formed trust. 

People were being themselves. I liked that there was no judgement.  In the space of five minutes of being in the room you’d hear a bunch of bizarre conversations that you’d be worried to say out loud usually, but everyone's chill, having a great time.  It made me think maybe all these things I worry about, aren't a problem?

It was such an important aspect of social interaction for me. That idea of understanding and empathising with other people, as a key part of making friends, but also understanding the world better.’ 

'MPYT showed me what it felt like to be treated as an equal and young "adult". Feeling truly supported by peers and adults alike was a really unique and valuable experience to have whilst growing up and not something that we could get in a school environment. It helped me develop my own confidence greatly, improve my social skills and gave me the opportunity to make new friends with people I might not have otherwise socialised with. As well as the many social benefits, attending MPYT showed me how to work effectively as part of a team and the importance of valuing others' work and contributions.’