Join DYT

Open Day & Auditions

The Virtual Open Day will happen on Saturday, January 23, from 11.00am and will last about 90 minutes. You’ll meet current members and leaders and find out about the organisation. You’ll get a taste of what’s involved in being a member of DYT. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, we’ll take your photo and you will be assigned an audition slot.

The Audition will last about 60 minutes – in groups. There are normally 15 – 20 young people in each audition, where you will play some basic drama games and exercises and be asked why you’d like to join. We’re planning much the same this year, just on zoom!  The auditions will happen after school during the week of Jan 25 – 30.

The 10 Week Workshop Programme 

If you’re lucky enough to be accepted, you are expected to commit to attending all of the first 10 induction workshops. These workshops are a fundamental part of Dublin Youth Theatre and lay the foundations for the future work that we do. If you can not attend all the workshops, it is important that you let us know on the day of your audition.

This year, the first 5 workshops will be held over the February mid term, online. The remaining 5 workshops will happen on Saturdays from 11am to 1.00pm on Zoom.

The induction workshops are led by experienced facilitators Dave Kelly, Deborah Murphy and our very own Programme Coordinator Graham O’Neill. You’ll be introduced to trust, team work, audience-performer relationship, group dynamic, stagecraft, voice, movement, rhythm, observation, storytelling, improvisation, character development, taking direction, devising & text. 

Once you’ve completed The 10 weeks, you’ll join the “second years” for general workshops and a varied programme of theatre related activities, all of which you’ll find out about here on the website, on social and at the Open Day.

Productions

Dublin Youth Theatre has built a reputation over the last forty years for producing high-quality, exciting, challenging theatre. The annual programme includes the production of between 6 to 12 plays. These are a combination of high profile shows in recognised professional venues and low-key productions which allow new members with little or no experience an opportunity to perform in a ‘safe’ environment.

DYT Big Shows have featured in the Dublin Fringe Festival and Dublin Theatre Festivals.

In spring 2020, a cast of 14 members worked with Cal Folger Day and Director Tom Creed to create ZOONOSIS – a bedroom pop opera about lifeforms in lockdown.  The show exists as a website, which we invite you to experience at HERE.

In 2016 DYT presented RISING on the Peacock stage of the Abbey Theatre inspired by the role young people played in the lead-up to 1916. RISING was a wide-ranging contemporary look at what revolution means to young people in Ireland now. Developed with a cast of 20 DYT members in collaboration with documentary playwright Helena Enright and director Tom Creed, RISING explored art as activism, music as mobilizer and theatre as propaganda machine.

For DYT’s 40^th anniversary Big Show in 2017 two generations of DYT alumni created this is a room… with Dylan Coburn Gray writing and Veronica Coburn directing a new piece of contemporary theatre that explored the ways in which young people choose spaces and people to make a family and home of their own.  The development of the piece involved DYT partnering with Focus Ireland to work with a group of young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, as well as workshops with DYT members.  The cast included 21 members of DYT and it was staged as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival in Project Arts Centre.

Director Liam Halligan created a contemporary, Brexit-influenced setting for Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors in Smock Alley Boys’ School in 2018 along with live musical accompaniment from a band formed of DYT members.

National and International Opportunities

Dublin Youth Theatre welcomes opportunities for exchanges with other youth groups at local, national and international levels. We have participated in festivals and exchanges in Britain, Austria, the US, Belgium, Sicily, Denmark, Shetland Islands, Slovenia & Germany, as well as with other youth theatres all over Ireland.

As members of Youth Theatre Ireland, DYT are available to apply for Youth Theatre Ireland events such as the National Youth Theatre production that takes place every two years and the National Festival of Youth Theatres. In 2016, DYT participated in an exchange with The Lyric Drama Studio in Belfast where a group of members spent the day visiting Belfast, going on a tour of the city, learning about their history, and finally seeing their production of The Patriot Game, later on in the year, some of their members visited Dublin and saw our production of Rising.

How Much Does It Cost?

€100 per year. 

DYT is grant aided by The Arts Council, City of Dublin Youth Service Board and Dublin City Council, supplemented by donations, box office income and membership fees. Our grant funding enables us to keep membership fees low. If you don’t have €100, don’t you dare let that stop you, we’ll find a way! Members are expected to actively participate in members’ fundraising initiatives.

Got Questions?

You can contact Sarah and Graham in the office on 01 8743687 / 085 850 0856 (WhatsApp’s free!) or email us at admin@dublinyouththeatre.com with any questions. Please note that it may be a while before we respond, due to remote working and holidays, but rest assured you will hear back from us as soon as possible!

Keep an eye on our instagram and the website for updates.

We can’t wait to meet you.

Complete your application and register for the open day by completing the form at the bottom of this page. Applicants under the age of 18 must have parental / guardian consent to participate.