Youth Theatre Arts Scotland presents Emergence 2019, a celebration of bold new works-in-progress from the country’s leading youth theatre directors.

Each new piece is the culmination of a 3-month long artistic development programme in which each director has been exploring and expanding their practice in collaboration with some of Scotland’s most talented young performers.

Join us to witness the first sharing of these works which will shine a light on the ambition and quality of creative work by young theatre-makers.

Youth Theatre Arts Scotland’s Directors’ Development Programme has been made possible with funding from the Gannochy Trust and Creative Scotland, and the support of Edinburgh International Festival, Traverse Theatre and Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society.

Image: Andy Catlin

Friday 15 November

Sounds & Stories of the Stars
James Beagon (with members of Strange Town and East Lothian Youth Theatre)

The music and stories of Space are often limited to the screen, but what if you could capture that power onstage? A snippet of sci-fi storytelling with its own original soundtrack, composed and performed by young people for the stage.

KNOTS
Marion Geoffray (with members of Lyceum Youth Theatre)

An interactive exploration of R. D. Laing’s theories about relationships: how we communicate with one another, how these communications shape us and what is left of these relationships.

And Then We Said…
Sarah Rose Graber (with Performance Collective Stranraer)

How do you speak up for yourself in a world that expects you to keep your head down? A new piece of theatre about saying no and the complexities of standing up and being heard.

Love and Machinery
Leonie Rae Gasson (with members of Lyceum Youth Theatre and YTAS)

A party on stage. Leonie, some teenagers and a child explore what they think about relationships, sex, love and what it means to have a good time.

Saturday 16 November

Story of Now
Stephanie Arsoska (with Third Thread)

An improvised movement theatre piece exploring what happens when we listen and play with the present moment. No script, no pre-conceived ideas, crafting a landscape with movement, media, silence and sound as we dive into the unknown.

The Boy with the Glass Heart
Daniel Livingston (with Macrobert Young Company)

Alex was born with a broken heart. The black magic of the Cult of Glass Blowers is his only hope and his mother makes a darkly desperate deal - his emotions for a glass heart. How would it feel to live without feeling?

Saturation/Evaporation
Deborah McArthur (with members of Airdrie Youth Theatre)

Memory is fixed, fragile, fleeting. It’s something we gain, pause and lose. It lives within our whole body. But where do memories go to be logged and who decides what stays and goes?

The Full Spectrum Experience
Izzie Kerr (with Full Spectrum Arts)

A queer exploration with help from the glitter of the past. Join us as we celebrate the history of queer culture and how it has transformed who we are today.