Building skills, confidence and friendships

New youth group in a growing community

 

The village of Witchford in Cambridgeshire is a popular, pretty and growing community about 2.5 miles from the cathedral city of Ely. New houses are being built there, bolstering the existing housing supply of vintage homes and more modern builds, all of which provide a pleasant, predominantly residential settlement. A primary school and a village college reflect the community’s offer to families.

Recently, the creation of a youth drama group, for primary-aged children through to the teens, has widened the community’s value for families and swept open the door for drama, music and dance opportunities for aspiring and fledgling performers.

In roughly a year and a half, the Witchford Amateur Dramatic Society Youth (WADSY) has staged two major productions, High School Musical and Legally Blonde, with a showcase being held this past March (2025). In July, WADSY will stage The Little Mermaid Jr featuring young performers ages 6 to 12, followed in December by Chicago Teen Edition for 13 to 19-year-olds.

And on Fridays, WADSY hosts workshop classes for both age ranges of youth performers.

So what, you ask?

WADSY was created in 2023, by Charlie-May Wallis, now 20, a talented and skilled dancer, singer and actor in her own right, as an extension of the existing but dormant adult WADS group. She has regularly performed with a variety of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk community theatre groups, but her idea was to create a local youth operation right in Witchford’s own back garden.

They rehearse in the Witchford Village Hall, St Andrew’s Church Hall in the village, Witchford Village College and down the road in the village of Haddenham at the Arkenstall Centre, which has a good-sized stage and auditorium as well as smaller rooms for rehearsal and costume dressing.

“For younger people who have to rely on the parents, it’s better for people who live locally that they have some place that they can just walk to,” said Charlie-May.

“I’ve been that parent who has to drive backwards and forwards three to four times a week to different venues,” elaborated her mother, Kerry Wallis, who is a WADSY board member. “It’s a long way from this area to Newmarket, or to Cambridge, so it was definitely something that we needed much closer.”

Not only was the distance between communities a core element of WADSY’s reason for being, but total inclusion, a firm tenet of the adult group, was at the heart of the youth group’s ethos. “Everybody who wants to have a part will get a part. It’s irrelevant whether you’ve been on stage before, whether you have additional needs or disabilities. It doesn’t matter if you want to be on stage or help out backstage; we make a place for that to happen,” said Kerry. “Everybody gets a chance to shine.”

“We wanted a group that was focused on the potential of everyone,” Charlie-May said. “Everyone starts at this starting place and then we work with them so they’re able to be the best that can be in the end.

We wanted the kids to have fun with it, and we hoped that the audience would have fun by watching them. The whole thing is about enjoyment, and they (the performers) are up there on the stage because they enjoy it rather than because they’re under some form of pressure,” Charlie-May said.

The number of auditioners for Legally Blonde Jr in particular was so large that a number of parts, large and small, were double cast to ensure everyone had a role. One role was played by a different young player at each performance to give everyone in the group a chance to shine. “We had so many talented people, more than we expected to have,” said Charlie-May.

For the two major productions, Charlie-May has directed and choreographed the action, and received support from nine passionate volunteers including her friend Zack-Rhys Wymer, 21, who has done “a little bit of everything” from stepping into a small role and stage managing as well as helping out with choreography.

In Charlie-May’s future, she said, “I’d love to set up a group that’s tailored for people who have anxiety and complex traumas, and work with them, and offer therapy through drama.” Currently, Charlie-May is taking advanced dance training herself and doing a degree in Cambridge, at the same time as leading youngsters through their early stage experiences.

One young participant has rediscovered her voice and enjoyment of performing with WADSY after feeling uncomfortable with school productions. Courtney West, 15, played the lead role of Elle in Legally Blonde, unleashing a big, beautiful voice and a talent for comedy. An avid photographer, Courtney likes studying art subjects at school such as textiles and 3D design. But referencing her theatre activities outside of school, Courtney explained, “It’s good to have something that doesn’t have anything to do with school.” Doing theatre with WADSY, she said, has helped her become more confident and outgoing both on and off stage.

Courtney’s mum, Sarah Jane West, became the group’s child protection officer just weeks before Legally Blonde’s opening and is a fan of all that WADSY has accomplished. She pointed out the sell-out performances and near sell-outs that this show achieved. “I think that the community needs this,” she said. “Being so accessible and so inclusive has really shone through, and I think people are feeling it, it’s being really well appreciated.”

“I wouldn’t say it surprised me,” Sarah Jane added. “But it certainly warms me.”

DeeDee Doke

NODA East Regional Editor