FAQs

Your youth theatre must be affiliated to Youth Theatre Ireland for your young people to participate in any of our programmes. Information on how to affiliate can be found here. If you are already affiliated to Youth Theatre Ireland, then the participants in your youth theatre are already eligible to participate. The Programmes section of this website provides details of the various opportunities on offer.

Youth theatre Ireland is the national resource organisation for Irish youth theatres. While we do run programmes for young people, they must be in membership of an affiliated youth theatre to take part. If your child wants to get more involved in drama, they should seek to get involved in their nearest youth theatre. The Find A Youth Theatre section of this website provides details of all youth theatre Ireland's affiliated youth theatres.

Yes. Membership of Youth Theatre Ireland allows you to access a wide-range of opportunities and member-only Youth Drama resources. It will also help you to keep plugged-in to the sector. It should be noted, however, that Individual membership of Youth Theatre Ireland is open to all interested parties, and we do not endorse or provide a brokerage service for facilitators.

Youth Theatre Ireland's Garda vetting consortium is for Youth Theatre affiliates and approved Organisational members only. Youth Theatre Ireland cannot submit vetting forms for individuals except where Youth Theatre Ireland, an affiliated youth theatre, or an approved Organisational member wishes to engage the services of that individual. As vetting information cannot be shared between organisations, individuals must be independently vetted by every organisation that engages their services.

No. Playshare, our Find A Play resource, is open access. However, non-members are charged postage and packaging where applicable.

Youth theatres seeking to affiliate to youth theatre Ireland must fulfil certain criteria. Details of these criteria and how to apply can be found under Become A Member.

Organisational membership is open to any organisation with an interest in young people and the arts. Youth Theatre Affiliate membership is open to youth theatres only and involves a process of affiliation where certain criteria must be met. Youth theatres in membership of youth theatre Ireland can send young people forward to participate in Youth Theatre Ireland’s national programmes and organisation members cannot. Visit our Become A Member page for more information on the difference between membership as an organisation and affiliation as a youth theatre.

The process and timeframe for affiliation to youth theatre ireland varies depending on the development stage of your group when you first contact us. During the process, we will work with your group to ensure your practice and policies meet the affiliation criteria. If extensive support is required, you may need to join as an Organisational member during this period. Depending on the needs of your youth theatre, and the time you or your committee have available to work towards affiliation, the process can take a matter of weeks or months. Once our Research and Development Officer is satisfied that your group meets the criteria, your affiliation application will be put forward for ratification by Youth Theatre Ireland’s Board of Directors. For more information, visit our Become A Member page.

Youth theatres affiliated to Youth Theatre Ireland are plugged into a national network of youth theatres located all over Ireland. As an affiliate, your group benefits from national representation by a body with over 40 years of experience providing leadership to the sector. Youth theatre leaders can access a wide range of training opportunities, and young people from your group can go forward to participate in programmes such as the National Youth Theatre and Young Critics Programme. Visit our Become A Member page for more information.

If you want to start a youth theatre, then contacting us is the right place to start. We will help you to identify the steps you need to take and help you along the way. It is a good idea to join Youth Theatre Ireland while you are in the process of starting up a youth theatre so that you can access training, guidelines and tailored support from our team. However, it is best to talk to us first. For more guidance, please email contact our Research and Development Officer, Rhona Dunnett.

To participate in any Youth Theatre Ireland programme, you must first be a member of a youth theatre affiliated to Youth Theatre Ireland. Check out our Find A Youth Theatre page to find a youth theatre in your area.