YTYT Alumni Amy Winder is our 2nd 12 blogs of Christmas author...
Although Christmas blogs at Yew Tree Youth theatre would usually be a chance to look back at the year and reflect on what has passed, and what has been achieved, I haven't actually been at Yew Tree this year so first I'm going to throw the net back a little further. For those of you who don't know I'm Amy (Winder, and yes it is necessary to specify: I was at Sapphire company for the legendary time of five Amys) and I left Yew Tree a few years ago. I'm currently a mathematics student at Heriot Watt in Edinburgh, but let's for a moment throw back to me aged eleven. I was tall for my age and an academically successful kid, with lots to say but not enough chances to say it. I decided it was time to give up dancing, and I was looking for a new extracurricular activity. And I ended up at Sapphire company on Monday nights. Over the next few years I made short walk to Sapphire - feeling vaguely grown up because I had made my own dinner, which was usually beans on toast - and it was not long after where I was joined by my twin brother Sam, and my childhood friend Toni. The three of us had a habit of walking home from school the long way (past the newsagents for sweets) and practicing our lines in Thornes Park, quite possibly piquing the interest of a few dog walkers. Over the years, Yew Tree became a regular part of my life: Sapphire on Mondays, Gold on Saturday morning, various other projects throughout the year and eventually Connections. Eventually I made the sad decision to leave, taking into account the work load associated with college and the desperate need for the brainspace I was using for line learning. And I left acting for two and a half years until this September where I auditioned for a role in my drama society's production, and ended up playing a role which I feel I did justice. After all, out of all three performances I only ruined one scene by giggling. And to be fair I did turn around to see one of the characters eating a playing card (yes actually eating it and no he was not meant to be doing that but it was at least in character), so I think forgetting my lines was justified. Yew Tree has served many purposes in my life at different times from a creative outlet, to teaching skills, to providing a few hours reprieve from the things on my mind, to giving me a way to achieve things. I've devised a piece to perform at the national theatre connections, I've been there to show the families of miners that my generation will not forget their loved ones, I've made audiences laugh, I've made them cry and I've made them think. Like the routine of line learning and rehearsals became an accepted and unextraordinary aspect of my life, so did the skills I'd learnt. But on occasion I do notice them. Not only when I'm at my unis drama society doing an improv session or doing a projection workshop and realising just how good Sarah is at that stuff, but also when I'm asked to do an oral exam on unseen mathematical questions and I'm not nearly as concerned as the people around me. Or when I have to do a presentation about the life and mathematics of Cauchy, I went up and told the story of his like with great gusto and made my audience laugh. Storytelling is a huge part of my life. I often have people express surprise at what they see as my contridictory hobbies. "You passionately enjoy mathematics but also like to write?" They exclaim, aghast. But the thing is that creativity is not opposed to mathematics, the two are quite strongly linked. I cannot solve problems and puzzles without thinking about new angles (punny) to approach things with, because sometimes in mathematics the easiest solution comes from doing something which seems counter productive. And there's no usefulness in me solving these problems if I can't communicate what I have done and communicate it effectively enough for other people to be able to use what I've produced. In a similar way logic and problem solving are skills which are fundamental to both mathematics and drama, and honestly most parts of life. So although Yew Tree Youth Theatre has been absent from my life over the past year (except for getting to go watch some great performances) in other ways it has not been absent at all. I grew up in this group, and I've practiced skills that I need everyday, had experiences that I can draw on, and developed opinions that are a huge part of who I am.
Although Christmas blogs at Yew Tree Youth theatre would usually be a chance to look back at the year and reflect on what has passed, and what has been achieved, I haven't actually been at Yew Tree this year so first I'm going to throw the net back a little further. For those of you who don't know I'm Amy (Winder, and yes it is necessary to specify: I was at Sapphire company for the legendary time of five Amys) and I left Yew Tree a few years ago. I'm currently a mathematics student at Heriot Watt in Edinburgh, but let's for a moment throw back to me aged eleven. I was tall for my age and an academically successful kid, with lots to say but not enough chances to say it. I decided it was time to give up dancing, and I was looking for a new extracurricular activity. And I ended up at Sapphire company on Monday nights. Over the next few years I made short walk to Sapphire - feeling vaguely grown up because I had made my own dinner, which was usually beans on toast - and it was not long after where I was joined by my twin brother Sam, and my childhood friend Toni. The three of us had a habit of walking home from school the long way (past the newsagents for sweets) and practicing our lines in Thornes Park, quite possibly piquing the interest of a few dog walkers. Over the years, Yew Tree became a regular part of my life: Sapphire on Mondays, Gold on Saturday morning, various other projects throughout the year and eventually Connections. Eventually I made the sad decision to leave, taking into account the work load associated with college and the desperate need for the brainspace I was using for line learning. And I left acting for two and a half years until this September where I auditioned for a role in my drama society's production, and ended up playing a role which I feel I did justice. After all, out of all three performances I only ruined one scene by giggling. And to be fair I did turn around to see one of the characters eating a playing card (yes actually eating it and no he was not meant to be doing that but it was at least in character), so I think forgetting my lines was justified. Yew Tree has served many purposes in my life at different times from a creative outlet, to teaching skills, to providing a few hours reprieve from the things on my mind, to giving me a way to achieve things. I've devised a piece to perform at the national theatre connections, I've been there to show the families of miners that my generation will not forget their loved ones, I've made audiences laugh, I've made them cry and I've made them think. Like the routine of line learning and rehearsals became an accepted and unextraordinary aspect of my life, so did the skills I'd learnt. But on occasion I do notice them. Not only when I'm at my unis drama society doing an improv session or doing a projection workshop and realising just how good Sarah is at that stuff, but also when I'm asked to do an oral exam on unseen mathematical questions and I'm not nearly as concerned as the people around me. Or when I have to do a presentation about the life and mathematics of Cauchy, I went up and told the story of his like with great gusto and made my audience laugh. Storytelling is a huge part of my life. I often have people express surprise at what they see as my contridictory hobbies. "You passionately enjoy mathematics but also like to write?" They exclaim, aghast. But the thing is that creativity is not opposed to mathematics, the two are quite strongly linked. I cannot solve problems and puzzles without thinking about new angles (punny) to approach things with, because sometimes in mathematics the easiest solution comes from doing something which seems counter productive. And there's no usefulness in me solving these problems if I can't communicate what I have done and communicate it effectively enough for other people to be able to use what I've produced. In a similar way logic and problem solving are skills which are fundamental to both mathematics and drama, and honestly most parts of life. So although Yew Tree Youth Theatre has been absent from my life over the past year (except for getting to go watch some great performances) in other ways it has not been absent at all. I grew up in this group, and I've practiced skills that I need everyday, had experiences that I can draw on, and developed opinions that are a huge part of who I am.
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