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Rose Ayling-Ellis has been announced as a new patron of Deafinitely Youth Theatre. The young actress is best known for her work in the British soap opera Eastenders and for winning Strictly Come Dancing 2021. The theatre company was thrilled to welcome her back – Ayling Ellis started her acting journey with Deafinitely Youth Theatre in 2013 before going on to join their professional training programme, HUB.
Rose’s time on Strictly Come Dancing included a stunning tribute to the deaf community with a dance that won the Must-See Moment Award at BAFTA and included a special visit to the Deafinitely Youth Theatre.
Rose is a deaf actress and activist for better deaf representation and rights. She expressed her excitement at becoming a patron in a statement that read:
“I am delighted to become a Patron of Deafinitely Youth Theatre, a fantastic charity that is so special to me, and supporting the work they do is important to me. DYT, under the direction of Paula Garfield, was my first experience of deaf performing arts and I loved my time there. It provides such as exciting opportunity 14–21-year-olds to take part in drama activities, attend live theatre, meet other deaf young people and learn about getting involved in theatre. Without DYT, so many deaf young people would have limited opportunities to explore or develop their sense of deaf identity. DYT believed in who I was as an actress and who I could be, which is something I want for generations of aspiring deaf actors and theatre makers in the years to come.”
Artistic Director Paula Garfield said in a video:
“Deafinitely Theatre is really delighted that Rose has agreed to become Patron for our Youth Theatre. Having role models is so important, especially for those young deaf people who may not have experience mixing with others like themselves. Since taking part in our youth theatre herself in 2013, Rose has been a role model who continually provides inspiration, hope and positive vibes to young people, and shows them that they can follow their future dreams.
Rose recognises Deafinitely Youth Theatre’s importance for young deaf people who want to meet other deaf people, for learning various skills, learning about the theatre industry, and networking.
All of our youth activity is facilitated by experienced deaf creatives, and Deafinitely Youth Theatre is dedicated to giving young people opportunities to be creative, confident whilst building up their identity in a safe, friendly and accessible environment.
Rose becoming our Patron means a lot to us and our Deafinitely Youth. As our future generations, they can look to see that as Rose has proved herself, deaf people can achieve big dreams. We really look forward to working with Rose in the years to come and for an exciting future together!”
Deafinitely Youth Theatre is an exciting opportunity for those aged 14-25 to take part in drama activities, meet other deaf young people and learn more about getting involved in theatre.
Deafinitely Youth Theatre supports over 100 deaf young people every year to take part in free, fun, and accessible theatre opportunities. Rose’s support will help to bring more attention to the importance of providing creative spaces for deaf young people to develop their deaf identities and to help to carry on nurturing generations of brilliant deaf talent on our stages for years to come.
The company does this through several strands of their work:
We travel the UK providing Drama taster workshops to a variety of Deaf schools, theatres and community centres. Our mission is to connect with deaf young people around the UK who are interested in drama.
Throughout the summer holidays, we provide a fun and exciting week of workshops on a variety of subjects, such as Improvisation, BSL & Acting on Stage and Film, Introduction to Puppetry, Physical Theatre, Comedy and Visual Vernacular.
This is your chance to get really stuck in. The company is formed of young people who want to learn more about drama and commit to a term of workshops and activities that build there acting and performance skills. The company are then cast in a production and begin a schedule of rehearsals ending in a performance in a professional theatre open to the public.
Every second year, the Deafinitely Youth Company perform as part of the National Theatre Connections run by the National Theatre. In addition to the activities normally undertaken by the company, the company will perform at a well-known partner theatre chosen by the National Theatre. The show could then be chosen to perform on the National Theatre stage!
Deafinitely Theatre is a supporting network that provides events and training schemes for those that want to achieve the Arts Awards-Bronze, Silver and Gold. Our Youth Coordinator is a trained accredited assessor for the Arts awards and is always on hand and available for those that require support, assistance and want to complete their arts awards during any of our events, workshops or productions.
Rose Ayling-Ellis is currently performing the role of Celia in As You Like It at Soho Place making her West End debut. In what’s been described as a ‘joyous’ adaptation directed by Olivier Award nominated Josie Rourke, the production features captioning, sign language, and audio described performances. Soho Place explain:
“@sohoplace are happy to confirm that Rose Ayling-Ellis and other members of the company will be using BSL as part of the performance and we have announced that all performances of the play will run with captions which will be accessible to the entire audience. The captions have been incorporated into the production to create a fully inclusive experience for all. Screens will be set on all four sides of the theatre so wherever you sit, you will be able to see the screens and the action on stage.
The captions will give the best experience and the best way to appreciate the play, but we acknowledge that is not right for everyone – so we will also be offering a BSL performance on Thursday 26th January at 7.30pm. We have not yet released the seats booking for this performance. If you would like to book for the BSL performance please click here to register your interest.”
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Michelle is a musician and composer from the UK. She has performed across the UK and Europe and is passionate about arts education and opportunities for women and girls.
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