Masque Youth Theatre

I have been associated with Masque Theatre in Northampton for around a quarter of a century. First starting when I was thirteen, I joined Masque Youth Theatre (surprisingly the youth theatre attached to Masque Theatre) because the leader of the group, Ursula Wright, came to my middle school to lead some after school drama classes. It was good fun and at the end of the run she invited us all to join her youth theatre. It was only recently that I realised that one of the reasons she was giving these classes was to go to schools and invite children who were interested in drama to join. Ursula Wright was a formidable woman. To look at, an unassuming, diminutive retired teacher, but in a hall full of precocious teenagers, she had the ability to silence them with one swift hand in the air. Her word was law and was respected by children and adults alike. If she was speaking, you were listening.

I vividly remember my first session at MYT. I arrived early, paid my subs, sat down and waited. As I waited, a little nervous and conscious that I didn’t really know anyone, a gaggle of teenage girls streamed in. I say a gaggle, not as a negative, but to describe the noise that forty-five teenage girls can make in a school hall. There were some boys there as well. The silence that ensued once Ursula decided the session would start was profound. I have to admit, I enjoyed acting, but the reason I initially stayed was because of the girls. Thirteen year old me was very happy to have found this group. I learnt a lot at MYT. Ursula was a great teacher of the craft of acting and the responsibility and dedication you need to be an effective actor and human being. I don’t remember my confidence being low, but I gained so much from Ursula and her teachings that it forms a huge part of who I am today. If anyone ever asks me if their young person should go to a youth theatre, I always reply in the positive. Much can be gained from those hours in the week where they are outside school pursuing something other than book based learning.

The camaraderie we had within the group is legendary. I felt safe and able to express myself in different ways. I made some great friends at MYT and we share a special bond. Like I’ve said in previous posts about ‘theatre friends,’ we’re not good at keeping in touch but when we speak or meet up, I can feel myself back there being a teenager, getting into trouble with girls and doing some acting as well. I stayed for four years, comprising four productions and a couple of performances at the Millennium Dome for ‘Northampton’ day.

Ursula’s husband, Brian Wright, a professional script writer and playwright helped MYT out with plays for fifty kids, authoring original scripts and adapting others. When I came back to volunteer to help with MYT after finishing university, Ursula and Brian guided me once again. I was given responsibility, able to write my own scripts for performance, learn many roles backstage and in part give back some of what was given to me when I was younger. Once I got a little too busy at work, I had to ‘hand in my notice’ as a volunteer. A few years after, Ursula stepped down from running MYT and decided to retire once again… to directing adults in productions for Masque Theatre. Sadly, despite Herculean efforts by those who led the group after, MYT has ceased to exist.

Ursula died a few years ago and I’m as sad today as I was at her funeral. I still well up thinking about her and I struggle to talk about her with others when reminiscing. She gave so much to so many, even if we didn’t fully appreciate it at the time.