ABOUT
Best Youth Theatre (aka BYT) is a creative, re-inventive, challenging and well-established, dynamic young people’s theatre company.
We focus on creating exciting, professional quality productions and public performances whilst enhancing performance techniques. BYT is a place to find yourself and be with likeminded, supportive and creative young people.
Best Youth Theatre is for secondary school students who love drama, acting and creating shows. There are no auditions as we encourage everyone to follow their passion. The youth theatre is an opportunity to do drama outside of school and work with directors from the profession. The sessions can also support GCSE drama and A level students as the weekly sessions develop devising, physical theatre, and acting skills.Past and current members are part of The National Youth Theatre, and have gone on to a range of careers in the arts.
We have performed at The National Theatre twice, having recently been selected by National Theatre Connections for the second time in seven years, perform regularly at The Roman Theatre of Verulamium as part of the OVO Open Air theatre season and have previously won The Welwyn Garden Youth Theatre Festival 'Best Play' and the Adjudicators Award in the recognition of outstanding chorus work.
We also welcome those interested in backstage and production roles like sound, lighting and design.
TIMES
Wednesday Evenings
BYT 1 (Ages 11 - 15 school years 7-10) 5pm - 7pm
BYT 2 (Ages 15 - 18 school years 11-13) 7pm - 9pm
LOCATION
Sandringham School, The Ridgeway
St Albans, AL4 9NX
Best Youth Theatre
Ages 11 - 18
Creating and performing
AGE RANGE
Age 11 - 18 (secondary school age only)
Too young? Check out our Best School of Acting.
FEES
Termly fee of £220 split into four monthly instalments of £55. Childcare vouchers accepted, sibling and multi class booking discounts available.
BOOK
Book your place or two week trial here:
Best Youth Theatre
Self Expression
We pride ourselves on equality and giving every Youth Theatre performer a space to shine both in the sessions and the performances. Across the two groups, we watch our young creatives grow and develop as people as well as performers and the content of our sessions is built around the needs, interests and experiences of the group. We have developed an ensemble way of working and our success with our chorus work has been critically acclaimed. Students take part in all areas of the production from selecting the pieces, having a say in casting and being involved in technical and back stage roles and design. The Youth Theatre is made up of students from more than 10 different schools, highlighting that Best is a place to find yourself and find your tribe.
Best Youth Theatre
Productions
Every year, each of our youth theatre groups produce and perform a high quality, exciting and innovative performance piece. We like to vary our performance venues and get involved with festivals and events that help our students flourish in both their learning and creative experiences. Whether we are performing an epic piece on the Dorfman Stage to a sold-out audience at London’s National Theatre or an intimate, hard-hitting piece of new writing at The Maltings in St Albans, we consider our productions to be an opportunity for our group to share their ideas, talents, enthusiasm and creativity.
Best Youth Theatre
Skills
The group is directed by two highly experienced theatre practitioners, who bring different skill sets to the group from naturalism to physical theatre, farce to immersive; between them, our coaches have performed, directed and taught them all. Best Youth Theatre is a place to develop professional level performance skills and we don’t just focus on directing shows with at least one term being purely skills based. The weekly sessions are filled with drama games, theatre sports, acting training and show rehearsals. The personal and social skills the group develop last them a lifetime and many of them remain friends for many years.
Meet The Team
Best Youth Theatre
We hire skilled, committed and family orientated theatre professionals with a real passion for teaching. We value consistency and a progressive, structured approach. We know that it is Best’s responsibility to provide the framework in which the teachers can thrive – loving what they do and being able to pass that enjoyment in bucket loads on to the students.
LISA SCHULBERG
Lisa’s spent her lifetime in the arts and is passionate about the positive effects it can have on us all. A full time musical theatre stage school kid, she then followed her dream of becoming an actress by gaining a 1st Class Hons degree in Theatre Arts, Performance and English followed by a Masters in Acting at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, receiving the first post graduate full bursary funding.
On graduating, Lisa toured extensively for 7 years across the UK and Europe in acting roles, from Shakespeare to Soap Opera, in Stratford Upon Avon and Manchester to London. Lisa’s career highlight was 100 shows playing Marianne Dashwood in the stage premier of Sense and Sensibility. Whilst building up her TV and film work presenting for BBC London and playing a lead in a British Television Award winning film, Lisa began teaching and directing.
Lisa has worked as a role actor and corporate workshop facilitator for over 20 years specialising in Conflict Management. Clients include the NHS, Barclays Bank, Tetra Pak and the Police
Lisa taught Acting, Voice Theory and LAMDA for Italia Conti for 8 years and has directed and run numerous youth theatres including Snap, Trestle, and our now twice National Theatre Connections selected Best Youth Theatre.
After working on numerous mental health and wellbeing projects for theatre companies, councils and charities as a performer, writer, director and workshop facilitator. Lisa set up Tip of the Iceberg Theatre Company in 2007, with the aim to involve, inform and inspire people to lead happier lives and her work on mental wellbeing and relatioinships has reached over ½ million young people.
Best Youth Theatre Director
Best Youth Theatre Director
DAWN HUDSON
Dawn gained a professional diploma in dance from Laban and a degree in music and dance from Roehampton and continued to develop her love of drama and acting taking many different courses across the next 20 years. She follows her passion for music and playing instruments by leading choirs and bringing songs and music to life across her roles at Best.
Dawn has numerous teaching qualification from working with early years through to adults.
The epitome of a multi-skilled performer and director.
Dawn has performed and toured with a diverse range of companies including The Royal Opera House, Unicorn Children’s Theatre, Pentabus, Forest Forge, Box Clever and Tall stories.
As a facilitator Dawn has many years of experience and has taught for the education departments of both the Royal National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe.
As ‘Artist in Residence’ she has worked to develop creativity in the curriculum in several primary schools and is an associate of The Map Consortium, designing and delivering professional development training to organisations in the UK and Europe.
Her physical theatre work experience Alexander Technique (studied with Paul Burge for 10 years) and working with David Glass, Theatre de Complicite.
Dawn has been part of the BYT team since 2016 and directed the award winning 'Just', the acclaimed 'These Bridges' and the NT Connections selected play 'Find a Partner'.
