Youth Theatre Members Erin and Livie Take Part In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

07 Jul 2022 | General News

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Hull Truck Theatre has been an opportunity for people from our local community to get involved with theatre but acting is not a new hobby for all of them! Two of the younger members of the cast Livie Dalee and Erin Findlay have both been on a journey at Hull Truck Theatre starting out in Youth Theatre before taking on projects just like A Midsummer Night’s Dream. From fringe pieces in connection with our Grow Season to performing in our Great Adventures shows.

Both Livie and Erin have now secured places at drama schools and believe that Hull Truck has been a first steppingstone into the industry for them.

Livie Dalee, Actor playing Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream said:

“I was 11 when I first joined Hull Truck Youth Theatre and was a member until I turned 18. I took part in numerous plays during that time including Our Mutual Friend in 2017 as part of the City of Culture, A Christmas Carol in 2017, A Human Electric Tree (with theatre company Silent Uproar) in 2018 and Peter Pan in 2019. Last year I booked my first professionally paid show at Hull Truck Theatre, A Great Christmas Adventure, an interactive story for 3–6-year-olds.

In January this year, I gained a job as a Youth Theatre Assistant at Hull Truck, working with their Young Creator members and in May I was asked to perform in a rehearsed reading of Duck Pond by Kerrie Marsh. I’d recommend Hull Truck Youth Theatre to anyone who enjoys theatre, acting and creating! It’s a brilliant company that helps young people develop their skills, confidence, and connections to the industry.

I was accepted into the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and will be joining them this September. Hull Truck helped me gain the experience, practice and confidence required to obtain a place.”

Erin Findlay, Actor playing Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream said:

"I officially started youth theatre when I was 10 and my first project was in a Young Writer's Festival shortly after I joined (I played a grumpy, old-man fish who quoted Blackadder a lot!). Since then, I've been involved in around 15 different productions with Hull Truck Theatre.

I think 2017 as a year was possibly the most special for me, as I was in two plays, Defiance and Our Mutual Friend. With Defiance, we collaborated with Act III (some of whom are now in A Midsummer Night's Dream with us) and devised our own play - which is something I didn't really have the opportunity to do beyond school. Then with Our Mutual Friend, we worked with playwright Bryony Lavery to bring Dickens' work to the stage. In this show I worked closely with a fight director and a movement director and was able to play one of the story's villains. Our Mutual Friend was a show that really solidified that I wanted to pursue acting as a career.

Another show that really has a special place in my heart is Tortoise and the Hare - this was my first play as a professional actor. It was directly after the pandemic and after performing on Hull Truck's Stage 1 we went on a tour of local primary schools. Their reactions to live performance was really unlike anything else, considering many of the children would have been too young to remember anything like this pre-pandemic.

Now I work as a Youth Theatre Assistant, which is also very special because I can see how other young people are impacted by the theatre and how they're changing as performers.

I'd recommend Hull Truck Youth Theatre to any young person, whether they want to get in to acting or just gain some confidence and make some friends. The opportunities I have had in performing at Hull Truck Theatre have absolutely shaped me into who I am as a performer, but also as a person. I've made friends for life, my confidence in myself has grown and I've had chances to express myself and my creativity.”