Having a voice...

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I’m writing the blog on Friday night…a rare thing…mostly I write the blog on a Sunday, occasionally on a Saturday night if I get chance but this week it’s being written a day or so early…

There are a number of reasons for this…

1.  I have a jam packed weekend – Saturday = Gold + Filming + Connections…Sunday = a whole day of tech/dress rehearsals for a whole load of brilliant Christmas shows…

2.  I literally can not talk…I have no voice at all…when I try to talk normally a pathetic hoarse whisper emerges – which means the normal wrapping up of the day/week that would usually occur with Oz at about this time is out and our planning for the weekend is too much like hard work so that’s gone by the wayside too…this, as you can imagine, has sparked a whole host of thoughts for me…

It’s the strangest of feelings… twice this evening (my voice only went at 6.45 tonight when I finished teaching) I have wanted to seriously challenge someone on something they said but I literally didn’t have the voice to do it…so utterly disempowering for me…also I’m anticipating a day tomorrow where I have masses to do, all of which I would normally control verbally and that option is now potentially no longer open to me…I have no idea of how the day might end and my only consolation is I have the best co-director I could wish for and therefore there is a chance all will be well…this is only small consolation in light of my Monicaesque need for control…

However as you might imagine lovely YTYT member one of the thoughts running through my head applies directly to you and it is this…on Wednesday and/or Thursday this week you have a voice…you have a voice to tell a story with, you have a voice that can proclaim just how impressive the young people of Wakefield are…you have a voice that can communicate something of the brilliance of Yew Tree Youth Theatre…You have a voice that can reveal a little of your huge potential…so use it will you…be brave and bold…speak with passion and spark and integrity and let your actions mirror your words…don’t speak softly so you cannot be heard…don’t throw away the ends of lines and rush what you have to say or drop the pace…and finally speak with colour and passion and understanding and know that if you do all of what I have just asked our Christmas plays will be a joy in the telling and in the receiving and all your hard work will be worth it…and then when you’re all done with that you can come and have frivolous fun with us on the 15th and we can look at each other with the confidence of knowing we have used our voices and used them well…Have a brilliant performance week YTYT I know I will…

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