It is 20 years ago that the promotion of young Actors and Youth
Companies took form. In those days THE BRITISH COUNCIL in Madrid
and Valencia
showed a great interest on our project. The leading Spanish Press (EL PAIS)
praised this task deviced for young actors, a theatre action with no precedent
in our country. So we can read on EL PAÍS of February 1987 which stated:
“Another of the activities of FUNDACIÓN SHAKESPEARE is… Actor Training
and Youth Theatre Production. It all commenced with a Production of As you like
it (Pierre Constant) now to be followed by a Romeo & Juliet (Winston and
Lee) where the cast was formed by young talented actors chosen in a very strict
process of selection such as Carles Sanjaime, Jaime Pujol, Carmen Del Valle…
taking as a basis of performance the new translation which is about to be
issued. This great event was performed by the so called “Teate Jove” under the
direction of Edward Wilson, director of the British National Youth Theatre and
assessed by Brian Lee. It all was under the coordination of Prof. Manuel Ángel
Conejero”.
This activity was highly beneficial for several years, accomplishing a
big amount of projects building bridges between Valencia, London and others,
where a wide number of actors took part .Some of them , after a number of years,have found a national and international renown both in
cinema and theatre (Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Enrique Arce, Alejo Sauras, Jaime
Pujol, Carles San Jaime, Carmen Del Valle, Nacho Fresneda and the so peculiar
case of Daniel Craig, casted as the modern and widely known James Bond
character). Those stand as some of the names , amongst a vast list of
professional and crafted people.
The method happened to be attractive and was quite simple: learn acting
by acting, in an actors’ WORKSHOP
fashion (nowadays divided into ACTING SCHOOL and YOUTH COMPANY), led by a team
of professionals formed at that time by Edward Wilson and Brian Lee (from the
National Youth Theatre, London) and Manuel Ángel Conejero –director of the
Profect- was responsible of training the actors.
Now, several years later, after years of crafting and experiencing,
Seminars and workshops in Madrid, La Habana,
Bogotá, Armenia, Edinburgh, New York, Los Angeles… using Dramatic Art in front
of the camera as well as on stage, the eventuality of a new Youth Company
floats in the air: NEW YOUTH COMPANY, with the willing of exhibit as a school
and WORKSHOP/LABORATORY and pass the final test of showing results in front of
the public, works and stagings, in a regular way. It definitely sounds simple,
evident indeed, but the formula still stands as unique and peculiar our
country.
With “Shakespeare in the Park” (2007), “Lorca, Lorca” (2008), “Hoy se
ensaya Hamlet” (2008-2009) and “Hamlet Express” (2009), we’ve been able to test
once again such methodology with renewed energy and projects, being “Hamlet
Express” staged in the FESTIVAL D’ESTIU-SAGUNT A ESCENA on July 2009. So
happened with “Hamlet, Hamlet!” (Olympia Theatre, May 2010), with a great
success and acceptance.