The 'Incubator Scheme' at The Discarded Nut Youth Theatre (DNYT) located in The Nutshell, Winchester, is dedicated to helping young people hoping to apply to drama schools, or those who have recently graduated from one.
This scheme spans across all of the groups offered at DNYT, encompassing both musical theatre and pure acting.
DNYT includes classes split into three age groups for musical theatre (academic years R-3, 4-8, 9-13) , and two for acting (academic years 4-8 and 9-13).
The acting groups produce both a Christmas and summer production each year.
This December, the older acting group will be performing 'The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe' as adapted for the stage by Glyn Robbins, inspired by the book by C.S Lewis.
Overall, DNYT aims to create a professional yet fun environment to produce quality shows for young people to display their enthusiasm and expertise.
This is supported through the 'Incubator Scheme', which usually collects an intake of up to three participants per group, taking up roles such as choreographer, director, costume designer, and lighting designer.
Artistic director Noël Jones said: "[it gives] young people more opportunity to develop their skills."
Through a combination of delivering workshops, mentoring sessions, and attaining a practical understanding of how theatre works both backstage and front of house, students should gain necessary skills for future work in the industry.
"That's what's quite special," Jones added, "It's inspiring."
The company recruits for this scheme annually, with letters of application and CVs to be submitted during April, followed by an interview stage in May for work to begin in September.
Dates for DNYT's Christmas show are Thursday 12th December-Saturday 14th December 2024, performing 3 evening shows at 7:30pm, and a matinee on Saturday at 2:30pm.
Tickets are on sale now and can be found on The Nutshell's website.
