It’s official: Oliver! has been a record-breaking success! With just 7 tickets remaining (at the time of writing) for tonight’s performance and tomorrow night completely sold out, this production has drawn the biggest audiences we’ve ever seen in our 12-year history. A huge thank you to everyone who has come out to support our incredible cast!
After the final curtain falls tomorrow night, we’ll kick off one of our favorite YATS traditions: the after-show cast party! After dedicating a special copy of the show poster for each other, all members of the cast and backstage crew come together over a big celebratory meal — usually featuring pizza, ice cream, fizzy drinks, and plenty of laughter — to share stories, reflect on their experiences, and, yes, shed a few tears.
The party also includes our much-loved cast awards, where the senior members hand out light-hearted titles like “best dancer,” or “the cast member who can do the best impression of Sean laughing.” It’s all very silly, frankly. We also hold our annual graduation ceremony, where the cast members who have just performed in their final YATS show before heading off to university next year are recognized. Many of these ‘YATS Graduates’ have taken part in as many as eight productions with us over the years. They’re each presented with a certificate to thank them for their courage and commitment. (Of course there is a very good chance they will go on to become professional performers or stage crew!)
While all this is going on, our amazing volunteer team swoops in to strike the set, dismantle the lighting rig, pack away the costumes, clean the theater, and load everything back into storage — where it quietly sits until the next year, when we WILL be doing it all again!
From all of us at YATS, thank you for making Oliver! such a huge success. It’s been a joy to share it with you.