Who we are

www.teesdaleoperaticsociety.co.uk

TOYS (Teesdale Operatic Youth Society) is the youth wing of the Teesdale Operatic Society, which is open to all children in the Teesdale area aged 7-18. We aim to do one full scale musical dedicated to just the TOYS section a year, with the option of being involved in the shows that our adult members do as well.

Since starting up in January of this year, TOYS has put on an outstanding production of Matilda Jr., which received rave reviews and has been nominated for a NODA North award for Best Youth Production. In addition, our youth members have just joined with our adult group for our first ever cabaret concert, 'A West End Walk', which saw a huge cast come together to perform songs from a range of different musicals. The next TOYS production will be the awesome 'School of Rock' in March 2023, with auditions taking place in September.

There is no audition to join TOYS, everyone is welcome. The shows we do involve auditions for the principal/main roles. Our aim is to give all children the opportunity to sing, act and dance regardless of ability. But there is so much more to gain from being part of this fab group: making friends with other people who love the same things, experiencing top level musical theatre coaching and performing with live musicians.

What we are raising for

We believe that no young person should be prevented from accessing the opportunities we offer here at TOYS because of financial barriers, yet we know that the current cost of living crisis is pushing more-and-more families into financial hardship. We are therefore looking to set up a bursary scheme, which will allow us to give financial assistance to young people that would like to be involved with our projects.

Music, Dance & Drama are for all.

What we are doing

In order to raise the funds to set up our important Youth Bursaries, I will be doing a 24-hour pian-oke marathon on Thursday 18th August - Friday 19th August!

What is piano-oke? It is karaoke but with live piano accompaniment rather than a backing track. Which means I will be playing the piano pretty much non-stop for 24 hours...*

People are welcome to sign up to sing during various slots - it would be wonderful to have the company! Sign up for one or more 15-minute slots here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cJXzXGocy_rX2grZVKJWxAIApbDKOb2VLcUeSW_ehUQ/edit?usp=sharing

* I am, rather selfishly, allowing myself the odd loo-break and sandwich!