James Doy - Musician and GM of National Youth Theatre Company
James is the General Manager and Musical Director of the National Youth Theatre Company Trust (NYTCT).
NYTCT is a Charitable Trust devoted to bringing confidence and life-skills to young people through the performing arts.
We saw a wonderful excerpt from the musical "Peter Pan".
The National Youth Theatre cast is open to 240 young people between the ages of 7 and 21.
Success stories from this programme include:
theatre experience for children who would never have the opportunity to be great;
James' favourite story is that of a child with "selective mutism" who spoke in front of an audience.
One of the highlights of their programmes is the 'Touch Tour' which they offer to blind and partially sighted students - this is a fantastic experience for their cast and crew as well as for the students involved.
The next show for the National Youth Theatre will be 'Shrek - the musical' from 30th November to 2nd December. Tickets are available through Ticketek. In June next year, the show will be Annie.
The Trust also has an Outreach Programme to bring in students from all over Auckland to the theatre. They have partnered with Schools who couldn't otherwise afford the opportunity to experience live theatre and witness the magic created on stage. These Schools (Decile 4 and under) are fully funded to come and see their School shows, including all transportation costs. It is a delight to see how much these children enjoy watching these shows.