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.

#30: Emma Lundy - CYTO

many young people of croydon have found solace in abundance at a place called CYTO - croydon youth theatre organisation. tucked away, i’ve been a member for 6, going on 7 years now, from when i was 13 up to 20.

croydon’s teenagers need CYTO, and places like it. i’ve seen hundreds of kids, many of them from criminal or broken homes, walk through it’s doors with the weight of the world on their shoulders, and immediately fall in with the amazing tutors, and other members, all struggling with their own lives, families, bodies and thoughts. they get to dance, sing, act, tech and design - and this ain’t no glee club. it’s therapy.

the fact CYTO is arts based is neither here nor there. it's a brilliant, nurturing home for young people first and foremost.

no one is turned away, no one gets left behind. it’s been my home for the entirety of my teenage years, and it’s everything to me. it’s everything to all of us.

it's the very beating heart of Croydon.

if anyone happens to be reading this, please, we're begging you, keep CYTO open.