TAG is delighted to launch its first ever online video collection care of YouTube. The videos celebrate the work of one of Scotland’s most loved theatre companies and feature a very special interview with Ewan McGregor.In March 2006 Ewan McGregor very graciously gave his time to meet with TAG to talk about his early years and how the arts have influenced him. Excerpts from this interview have been incorporated into TAG videos in this section. However we are delighted to have the full interview now online for you to enjoy.Part one – Early memoriesIn an interview with TAG Theatre Company, Scotland’s longest running theatre in education company, Ewan talks about his first memories of acting and going to the theatre.Part two – Performing at SchoolIn the second part of TAG’s interview with Ewan McGregor, the actor talks about performing at school, the importance of music, and being in the pipe band.Part three – Starting WorkIn the third part of TAG’s interview with Ewan McGregor, he talks about his first job at Perth Rep Company, studying drama, and early experience performing in schools.Part four – AttitudeIn the final part of his interview for TAG Theatre Company, Ewan McGregor talks about his responsibility as an actor, and not being disheartened by negative attitudes.Source: www.youtube.com, www.tag-theatre.co.uk

Contributed by Nicol WistreichI’d kept myself eerily cool right up until the moment he walked in the room.In those few brief seconds, it suddenly hit me. This is Renton. Sure there’s Star Wars and Big Fish and Robots and Moulin Rouge and even Shallow Grave. But Trainspotting was the film that made me and everyone I knew at that time sit up and say ‘hot shit that’s a good British film’ – and Ewan was what made it. And before that I can still remember sitting down to watch my first Dennis Potter series and seeing McGregor, brylcreamed-back hair, calmly stiring a cup of teain Lipstick on Your Colllar and wondering – who is that guy that make me have to watch every move he makes?Yet from the first email to his agent, then his publicity officer, right through to the email that sounded almost as suprised as I was when I read it: ‘Ewan has said he’ll do this’, it was just another interview. But there are some actors who you feel like you’ve grown up with, become an adult with, and as he walked in the back room of the Soho club we met at, hand thrust forward, I finally got those eery spine sweating shivers.He’d agreed to do the interview – not connected to any film release – for a documentary I was making for TAG Theatre while launching Netribution at the start of the year. TAG is Scotland’s longest running theatre in education company, and travels the country engaging with kids and exciting them about life and learning and – at its best – making them feel that expressing themselves creatively is a good thing. As I made the film I became converted to the overwhelming benefits of drama for young people – it boosts confidence, social skills, imagination, emotional inteligence, awareness, empathy and so on. It also – to get a bit academic – can teach something to a kid regardless of their learning style (some students need to act out, others need to listen, others need to write things down, etc) which may not sound like much but if you have to engage a class of 30 completely distinct children without the use of a cane, it’s kind of a god send.Thanks to Roberta for sending the interview 🙂