Good things happen when people show up...

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I woke up yesterday morning feeling more than a little daunted...for an outline of the day I had in store you can do no better than reading this weeks guest blog by Sam Winder...I'm going to endeavour not to repeat his blog from a parallel perspective but instead share with you the realisation that became a theme of my day...

So first off I had Gold Company...it was a great session - people were back after breaks, we had a new starter...we read our new play which I'm more than a little pleased with and we said goodbye to Matthew.  Now Matthew has no desire to be a prfessional actor and I think it's safe to say that drama, performance and therefore YTYT at first took him pretty much out of his comfort zone however pretty much every term time Saturday for over 3 years he's been at Gold Company.  There are a hundreds of reasons as to why he could have stopped bothering...he had to travel quite a distance each week, the friend he originally came with stopped coming, no one from his school comes to Gold Company the list goes on but none of that stopped him.  As a result of showing up each week (and all the other brave things he's done in this time) I have watched him unfurl and grow so much in confidence to the point where the young man who left us on Saturday ready to start University in September is a very different person to the boy who joined us all that time ago...it's genuinely been a pleasure to watch that happen.

Then it was off to Ossett Town Gala where YTYT members from Sapphire and Scarlett Company were to perform...oh my...I had such misgivings about doing it...I was worried it was too late in the term, that there were too many people on holiday, away, busy...that it was one too many challenges to rise to at the end of this hectic academic year...but after a bit of persuasion and the comfort that West Yorkshire Theatre Dance Centre were in it with us I had agreed to do it and what's more create two new short pieces oftheatre.  Turns out I needn't have worried - the actors that had been prepared to commit to the day did themselves proud...such attack, presence and generosity in their performances...it was a joy to behold.  It's important to say that the dancers from WYTDC were equally excellent, it's always a privilege to work with them.  What's more so many family and friends turned up to support them and so what I had feared was going to be potentially difficult, awkward and a bridge too far at the end of a long term turned into a real celebration of the talent and bravery of young people of Ossett and the surrounding area...it would have been so easy for performers and audience to not have bothered but I'm so glad they did...I have had the privilege of receiving so many well deserved, positive comments about the performance...good things really do happen when people show up.

There was no time to pause though because I was almost immediately into directing rehearsals for the Performers production of Peter Pan and then for our performance of Mugged...more young people showing up to make great things happen...both productions still in early stages but both showing exceptional potential because they involve excellent young people who are prepared first of all to be there and then once they are there prepared to give there everything...


I was right to be daunted about my day - it was full to bursting with all sorts of things that needed to be engineered, managed, solved, negotiated and driven but the for those of us that turned up we were rewarded in bucketfuls of joy, satisfaction, accomplishment and inspiration...if you were one of them it was a pleasure to spend the day with you...

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