Saving CYTO

CYTO started in the mid 60s and has helped many a young actor - this has enabled them to go onto drama school- the ones that didnt deceide to become an actor CYTO provided a meeting place for them and also gave them confidence through acting to do other things in their life.
Croydon Council should look long and hard at closing down CYTO.
Have the council considered making it a part time venue like it used to be or even self funding

#16: Richard Vincent - CYTO 

 

Without CYTO I can 100% guarantee I would not be the person I am today, I began attending at the age of 13, I didn't have to audition and didn't need to worry about any high tuition fees that most private Stage Groups charge. I am now 19 years old and still attend CYTO. We are taught by industry professionals, mostly freelancers, who come into CYTO and give us expert training and direction you would normally expect to find on a degree course at drama school. Without CYTO I wouldn't have had the confidence to apply for the BRIT school or the skills to have been accepted. I graduated in 2009 after 4 years training, I attended CYTO throughout BRIT and had a noticeably more realistic and professional attitude towards rehearsal, performance and the whole Theatre industry itself which was heavily reflected in my final grades.

Most importantly is that you don't even need to want to be an actor, singer or dancer professionally to attend CYTO, many of my friends use it as a creative outlet, and a lot of the younger members attend to simply be in an environment where they know they won't be judged and can socialise in a happy and safe environment. This evidentially has an effect on a young person's self-esteem and confidence, I used to be a very shy person, but the things I have achieved because of CYTO, have gone above and beyond what I ever thought I was capable of. CYTO is a place where preconceptions associated with culture, gender, disability and sexuality are challenged and overcome through performance and expression, boundaries are cast aside and firm friendships are formed that would never have otherwise existed if CYTO hadn't been there.

Overall if CYTO goes, my past, present and future go with it. I have just been accepted into a top accredited drama school and can safely say that it would have never have happened without the support of CYTO and its invaluable staff, especially Artistic Director Viv Berry, who has put her heart and soul into providing a safe and inspiring environment for young people to thrive in. I cannot afford to go anywhere else to maintain my skillset and more importantly closing CYTO will result in an increase in young people expressing themselves in a negative and possibly criminal way to fill a huge void in their life created by careless Government cuts. I and many others have made testimonies similar to these during the consultation period before the announcement of the planned cuts and I personally feel I have been ignored by my local council. So I hope that whoever reads this hears my story and makes the right decision to keep CYTO running and very much available to new and current members.

How fantastic that people make the time for CYTO, you were all fantastic for coming to see us!!!!

xxxxx

I haven't been to CYTO, but I have heard alot of very good feedback about it.
It sounds like a very warm youth Theatre, and without it I think that alot of young people would miss out an amazing opportunity.

So please. DON'T SHUT IT DOWN!
Holly Waters. =]

#4: sean mclevy - saving the croydon youth theatre

Please do all you can to save Croydon Youth Theatre- this youth theatre along with many other youth centres like this one play a huge part in the local communities and help keep youth engaged in positive activities- Croydon is in need of keeping the youth occupied and positive; CYTO is a great way to get the local youth to express themselves creatively through the medium of Arts, and should NOT be closed down!

Tanya

It's worth a try... gavin.barwell.mp@parliament.uk -

I would just like to say cyto was and still is my life!
i have been going there for around 6 years now! i am 21 and nearly 22!
i started doing technical workshops there and am now working for the national theatre doing lighting!
i owe so much to cyto and its awful to think that young kids will not have the same experiance i was lucky enough to get!

Rob.

#34: Cathy Heath - worth writing to our local MP?

Thank you Cathy, have forwarded the site details. Always great if others can too. H xx

I joined CYTO when I was 16, and it changed my life. It taught me how to interact with people, I made some of the best friends I could imagine, and it gave me the confidence to continue with theatre. I now have a Ph.D. in drama and I teach undergraduate theatre students. So many of the people I knew as a teenager, and the students I teach today consider youth theatre a vital part of their development, not just as theatre makers but also as people. Please, please, please reconsider closing CYTO. I grew up in Croydon, and it needs projects like this. CYTO is an investment in young people's futures, and to close it would be a terrible loss.

#4: sean mclevy - saving the croydon youth theatre 

 

This is a vital facility which gives young people the chance to grow and develop in confidence, work as a team, develop communication skills and come together socially. It is equally as important as any sports club and helps children be active and fight obesity!! That has to be a saving to the NHS for the future!!

Save Cyto ! dont close it will be a terrible lose has done a lot for me and my sister

Best of luck - Croydon Council have been cultural philistines for decades - for a very worthwhile cause.

I spent most of my teenage life at cyto. Cyto is more than just a youth theatre it is a safe place for young people to express themselves and go on a journey of self discovery, guided by amazing mentors and peers. It is a place I would one day like my own children to attend. It would be an absolute travisty for cyto to close leaving the next generation of teenagers without a safe environment, in which they can make friends, have fun and all the while learn new skills of which they will refer to throughout their lives. Please, please dont let this happen.

Without CYTO, i could promise you i would never have taken drama for A-Level, write my own music and perform to people in drama and/or music gigs. CYTO is such an exceptional place for people to develop skills in creative arts and a good place for advice, friends, confidence building, and a place to experience entertainment from the youths in Croydon and in London.

CYTO gave me the opportunity to become who i really wanted to be. I had no idea what i wanted to do with my life. I just lived life, doing stuff which i thought i loved (like history and french (yuck)) and never really opened myself to new opportunities. CYTO enabled me to see into the life of performing arts and now i'm taking Drama, and performing gigs. I would never be able to do that.

I also had the chance to become aware of my sexuality. Even though through my life i knew i was gay and even having lesbian parents in my family, i still thought that people would be homophobic or treat me differently. But CYTO was a wish come true to help me come out and be who i am. The other school i was at was so homophobic and they even bullied me because of my parents and not even for the fact that i am myself a homosexual. But CYTO was a foot step for me to come out and be proud of who i am. I would be in the closet for many years if i didn't go to CYTO.

It even ended my suicidal thoughts. From everyone and everything getting to me. The friends that betrayed me, the homophobia and homoseuality that was me, the life i didn't want: all helped me to kill myself. But, CYTO helped me to see that everything i am is normal and that i can love myself and not give a shit (sorry for the language) about all the other people that made my life horrible.

As you can see, closing down the place is a BAD CHOICE. There are many other ways to save money and to also keep others open. Like maybe having tax or something (not really expensive but just maybe £3 extra or something).

If you close down CYTO, you could be giving people less opportunity to live life, metaphorically and literally. Take it from all these people to keep CYTO open. Not just for the people running CYTO, not for the parents watching their sons and daughters perform, but for me and the rest of the members attending CYTO and fufilling our dreams. Please. For us.

No more cuts please!

The arts are one of the few industries that have actually gone up during the recession, not only that but it's brought together so many people who otherwise would have just drifted through, a cultural crossway

CYTO changed my life, and I know it will change the lives of many more young people. Young people have been getting such a bad press lately, we need to focus on the positive and not the negative and really celebrate the fact that young people have places like CYTO to go to. Most of the young people I have met whilst being at CYTO, including myself, see CYTO as a refuge for the negative world outside. If these amenities are taken away then who knows what our society will be like. Being a young person and growing up in this society is hard and it is for everyone so we need to treasure these kinds of services that really reach out to help the community especially for the young people.

CYTO plays a vital part in the community, the government talks of The Big Society, well that's what CYTO provides. Young people gather there to not only socialize but to perform in some of the most ambitious plays that other people of that age group may not have to opportunity to play a part in. It's all about friendship and the theatre. People in the local area can go and see a performance of a high standard and know they will be fully entertained. The most important thing, however, is that it gets kids off the streets! If CYTO was to close, this would be disgusting and a bad choice of fund cuts by the council. Do not make the youth suffer! I'm sure CYTO has been running for 40 odd years and now it is faced with closure....how is this right?!

#4: sean mclevy - saving the croydon youth theatre

 

Cuts are been made everywhere within our councils but how can Croydon council be cutting CYTO?? As an ex member and supporter of CYTO i find it truly devastating that this is happening. CYTO is more than just a place to put on a show, having been involved in CYTO i've seen 1st hand how very special that place is, it's staff, the members and their families never fail to create a genuine sense of community, passion and love for the arts! This place MUST NOT close.

One of the few organisations in Croydon that attracts young people of all abilities, disabilities races and religous and sexual preference. It does not cost the council a lot and returns much more than it takes. Please re consider