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Our first leavers blog of the year from Sally who is going to Huddersfield University to study drama 

I first joined Yew Tree in April 2015, having left an amateur operatic society that October and not performing at all outside of Drama GCSE my confidence was low. So, when I walked into my first session I was nervous to say the least, at this point Gold Company was large and I was one of the youngest there, so I felt quite intimidated by it all. But slowly I began to understand what YewTree was all about, I learned all the games, established friendships that would continue throughout my three years and soon Gold Company became the best part of my week. 
My second year at Yew Tree had a great start when I found out that the Princess Bride was our Christmas play, as a fan of the film I was excited to put a Yew Tree spin on it. After Christmas Gold company began working on Bassett, a connections play from 2011, with other commitments and inconvenient holidays meaning I couldn’t take part in connections for me Bassett was an excellent alternative. This production taught me how to develop my character in depth and detail.
My last Christmas play with Yew Tree was Ella, a colourful 1950’s adaptation of Cinderella. I loved everything about this play from playing the mean girl to arranging harmonies. My last production with Yew Tree was the poignant Remember Where You Came From that told the story of the miners alongside beautiful songs. Performing this at the NUM was an amazing experience and was a fantasticway to end my Yew Tree journey. 
I want to thank Sarah for providing me with such a positive environment to grow as both a performer and as a person. And a huge thank you to everyone at Gold Company for all the laughter and the memories. I wish I could go back and do my three years at Yew Tree all over again. So, to the next generation of Yew Tree go-ers I would say cherish and enjoy every minute of your Yew Tree experience.

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