05 April 2013

S4C will be working with Young Farmers Clubs in Wales (Wales YFC) to offer mentoring sessions to develop performing talents among members.

The programme Drama'r Ffermwyr Ifanc: Y Gystadleuaeth on S4C on Saturday 6 April will show highlights of the Wales YFC's drama competition held at The Grand Theatre in Swansea in March. 15 clubs took part in the event, a mix of Welsh and English performers, with prizes awarded for the best drama, actors and stage technicians in both languages.

The mentoring scheme will select some of the members who stood out during the event – actor, writers and technicians – to develop their skills even further. As part of the scheme a half hour light entertainment programme will be produced for broadcast on S4C later in the year.

Gaynor Davies, S4C Entertainment Commissioner says, "We will select members from amongst the bright talents who took part in the event and invite them to attend the mentoring sessions later this year. Wales YFC works hard to offer valuable opportunities for young people all over Wales to perform on a professional stage and we as a broadcaster would like to share our expertise to expand the experience to the TV sector too. I look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour in the half hour programme broadcast later this year on S4C."

Aled Johnson, Chair of the Wales YFC Activities Committee, "In holding events such as the one in March our aim is to give members a chance to perform on a professional stage like they have in The Grand Theatre. Developing talents we already have, and giving others the confidence to find talents they didn’t know they had. The chance to produce a programme for S4C will exhibit further the talents that the YFC has."

One who'll be taking part in the mentoring scheme is professional actor Rhys ap Hywel, who presents the highlights programme Drama'r Ffermwyr Ifanc: Y Gystadleuaeth on S4C this Saturday. Rhys is a former member of YFC Brynherbert and knows how valuable experiences like this are to boost a young actor's career.

"It will be interesting to see how they get on with the mentoring scheme. I noticed as I watched them perform at The Grand that there were several very strong performances. Six or seven actors stood out and were just as good as professional actor," says Rhys ap Hywel, who has starred in Pobol y Cwm, Teulu and the film Ryan a Ronnie on S4C. "You need two things to be honest. You must have the talent to begin with, and there was plenty of that on display at the event. Secondly, you need to be able to keep your cool."

The mentoring sessions will be arranged and held later in the year. A special programme about the mentoring process and the half hour entertainment programme will be broadcast towards the end of the year.

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