MANCHESTER Youth Theatre are holding auditions for their summer 1998 production to be staged at the Library Theatre in August.

The company was established by the National Youth Theatre to cater for the developing actors and or anyone with an interest in the theatre.

It offers students from the ages of 15 to 21 a chance to not only develop and enhance their existing talents, but also to put them into practice in an intensive five-week production course. In the first four weeks the students put all their efforts into a musical or play to be staged in the final week.

It is a wonderful way of learning to work with others and combining your own abilities with those of your fellow cast members.

Students are also introduced to many new techniques in theatre that they may not have come across before. For example in 1996 production of Lysistrata, masks were a major feature, allowing actors to experience an unusual aspect of acting.

Different types of movement and dance are also explored and lots of work done with alternative music.

Many members return year after year, and those who have attended from the age of 15 up to 21 can say that they learn something different and useful from every production. The summer school is not just for those who specialise in acting.

A production requires a good deal more than actors and the company offers places for those whose talents lie in other areas, such as lighting, set design, costume or make-up, and even require students to help in their promotion department.

Accommodation is also offered by Manchester University in the halls of residence. The cost of accommodation is £55 per week but grants may be available from the Prince's Trust.

Students can travel to Manchester every day as working hours are between 9am and 5pm, but they miss out on a good deal of the fun and entertaining nightlife in the halls of residence.

Even if you don't know anybody at the start you will leave knowing an entire cast and having made some really good friends.

I highly recommend spending a summer on the course to anyone with an interest in theatre.

Although auditions for this summer are almost finished, dates are available until May 2. Anyone wanting to audition or simply be involved in the 1998 production should call 0161 232 8805.

School day with a difference

STAFF and children at St Barnabas's CE Primary School, Darwen, celebrated World Book Day in style by organising an English Day in school.

We dressed up as our favourite book characters, from the Famous Five to Cinderella, even the teachers joined in. We could go to different rooms in our school and join in various activities. In the Radio Room we chose a poem and then recorded sounds to accompany it.

We also enjoyed the Puppet Parade because we made a sock or finger puppet each and then presented a play in a puppet theatre.

The Drama Workshop was good fun because we acted out part of a book and even changed some of the story.

There was also a Writers' Workshop where some wrote a poem and illustrated it and others wrote stories or wrote about pictures.

In the Computer Corner we did lots of activities on computers, from investigations to making our own word searches. That was good fun.

The English Day was a great success. All the pupils in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 took part in the activities which related to our English studies. The day was a change from our usual lessons and we really enjoyed in.

CATHERINE WRIGHT, 10, LAUREN BECKETT, 10, KATRINA SMITH, 11, CLARE DIXON, 11, IAN WALKDEN, 11, St Barnabas School.

Entries on show

WINNING entries in our competition to mark World Book Day, April 23, can be seen on display in the children's section of Blackburn Central Library for the next month. Entries were judged by Jean Gabbatt, district children's librarian, and prizewinners were presented with books by our editor, Peter Butterfield.

Winners and runners up in three age groups were: Junior - winner Latifa Patel, 11, from Blackburn, runners-up Alison Summer, eight, Pendleton, near Clitheroe, and Chloe Winkup, 10, Earby.

Secondary 11-13 years: winner Joanne Bradley, 13, Blackburn, runners-up Matthew Berry, 12, Oswaldtwistle, and Rachel Yates, 12, Burnley.

Secondary 14-15 years: winner Patrick Kirby, runner-up Joseph Gleave, both Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.