Sedgefield Players Youth Section (SPYS)

SPYS is a youth arm of Sedgefield Players and has around 60 members aged from 7-18. The whole group is a section of Sedgefield Arts, Recreation and Community Association CIO.

The SPYS meet every Sunday in the Parish Hall from 5:30 till 7:30 in 3 staggered groups and have 2 volunteer leaders, one of whom is a professional actor. There are no auditions and anyone can join. They rehearse for a summer show in July, take part in our annual drama festival in September and feature strongly in our pantomime between Christmas and New Year.

They have won numerous awards in recent years at a number of local festivals in Richmond, Saltburn and Port Sunlight. They have continued to work remotely online during lockdown and, last summer, were able to film short movies in order to enter our online festival.

We have had no income for over a year, especially since our big fundraiser, the pantomime could not go ahead, so our volunteer leaders and the SPYS would greatly appreciate a grant, so that we can kickstart the group back into life once the restrictions are eased. The costs of hall hire, scripts and licences are rising all the time so an award would be extremely beneficial as we get back into gear and can all start performing once more. We would love to have our own movie camera rather than having to hire one each time we film. Thank you for considering our application.