Thoughts on Youth Theatre shows and Snowballs

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I’ve had this metaphor turning over in my head for a while…it’s helped keep me thinking and grounded – most of the time.  So now I’m sat here thinking back over this last week of hard work and there are so many things to be pleased about…so many lovely images…so many pictures in my head of wonderful moments all courtesy of three Yew Tree Youth Theatre Shows…all different but all wonderful in their own way…
And so to the metaphor…the pathway to these wonderful Youth Theatre shows is not a simple or easy one – to be honest the last few weeks have felt at times like hard work – like pushing a very large snowball up a very steep hill or in my case three…so much to sort and settle, to prepare and pull together, to create and craft.  That’s not just me – every person involved has to be generous, graft hard, has difficult choices and sacrifices to make.  At points – when the incline takes a sharp shift to a crueller angle – we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t wonder whether it was all worth it, if it wouldn’t be easier just to let go of it all and just not bother…
However those are the points when you’ve lost sight of the reward, the moments where you get to the top of the hill and the snowball tips over the edge…no longer dependant on you it starts to roll down the hill on it’s own, gathering momentum and strength and substance while you just stand there and watch it happen revelling in the wonderful thing you had a part in making, a thing that was only possible because of your generosity and graft and choices and sacrifices…
Sapphire, Flawless cast and Gold Company I hope you enjoy the sense of achievement and satisfaction you deserve for making your productions happen this week.  Each one was a joy in it’s own right and it’s own way – thank you for maintaining your belief even on the steepest inclines…congratulations on being part of something wonderful.

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