Dec's blog July 2019

So, I'm currently writing this from up In the sky whilst flying over Russia, on my 11 hour flight to Tokyo. Whilst everyone is asleep around me (i should probably be too so don’t get jet jag) thought what better reasoning for me to think, review and reminisce my 5 years at Yew Tree. 

5 years isn’t even a long time compared to some people but i'll tell you this Sarah and Yew Tree has helped me carve myself into the person I am today. I wouldn’t be going to perform over in Tokyo for 2 weeks with Leeds Play house if it wasn’t for the sheer skill and experiences Yew Tree has given me. Im so grateful for every aspect. 

So for 5 years, I thought I’d talk about 5 of my favourite experiences whilst been at Yew Tree. So here we go… let's try compose ourself for this rollercoaster.

Mystery/ Passion play (2014) 

So when I was in High school I was one of those kids who’d join in and get involved with every single musical theatre show, play, literally anything hence me getting the nickname ‘Declan Rehearsal Kelly’. And basically Sarah came in and directed and wrote a play about the events leading up to easter Sunday. And from that day I knew I had to get involved more with Yew Tree, when looking back at when I first was engaged with Yew Tree I couldn’t get over how different It was to anything id done in school or other drama companies. An incident happened after one of the shows and from this day I can remember sitting on edge of the stage with Sarah giving me my first of many confidence boost prep talks. And from that performance I wanted to prove to myself a lot of things about peoples opinions and my self-worth. So off I went and joined Gold company for my first show of ‘ THE SEA”. 

Connections (2014-2019)

National theatre connection is a stand out experience over the past 5 years. 5 years 5 different connections plays, different cast and different theatres. What more could you want? Each year was such an amazing opportunity all presenting itself with different skills and memories which I would cherish forever. 

‘Hacktavists’ by Ben Ockrent was my first connections play followed by ‘Eclipse’, Simon Armitage. ‘Three’ by Harriet Braun. ‘Ceasefire babies’ by Fiona Dolye. Finally ‘Chaos’ by Laura Lomas. And then in 2017 we finally made it to the National Theatre with Fiona Doyle Ceasefire babies and what an amazing and unforgettable experience we all had working with people at the National Theatre. I think the reason why I love connection process is that its plays for young people about young people. It's also amazing how each play is complete different, fresh and current. I mentioned this in my last connection blog but want to talk about it again. Yew tree actors are always shifting and people come and go and you’ve got to adapt to new people to work with and I think connections is a prime example of people coming together and working on a play. In chaos I had to opportunity to work with Daniel Narey and I was such a valuable time because I was learning new stuff from him and he was learning from me and I was a challenge for us both to play each others love interests but we bossed it. And can I say how much Daniel Narey has improved since connections starting and loved been able to witness that.

The Tempest 

So a lot of you probably know that black company of their summer celebration play did William Shakespeares The Tempest and wow what an amazing show we produced. The amount of talent in that cast was insane and the process was a very challenging and difficult due to the complexity of Shakespeare and if anyone knows me I can’t even read lines in English let alone old English/ Shakespearian. I just want to say a few things, first, I scrubbed green face paint out of my hair and body for literally days on end - the thing we do of theatre (getting painted nearly head to toe). Secondly, you should know that me and Helena Wilkinson who played Prospero would go to Starbucks till 2-3am in the morning learning lines and if that doesn’t show you how intense it got Helena got 3 parking tickets for staying too long. It was such an honour to work with so many amazing actors. However, Black Company really came as one on that show and the connections which were made on stage between some of the oldest to the youngest is one thing which is joyous to watch because I can always remember looking up to the older people in Yew Tree. Working along side Jacob Dore and Lara Earnshaw was a absolute blessing, 2 very talented actors who comedy comes like second nature to them. All 3 of us worked so hard and jelled together to portray the comedy trio who spent most of the play drunk. Everyone was literally amazing and its such a good feeling to watch your mates killing it on stage. The amount of times I’ve said that I think Charlotte Johnson is one of the most stunning actresses to watch and in The Tempest she didn’t fail to meet my expectation. 

Miners 

The National Coal Mining piece I have done throughout the years have always been one of my favourite because I think its amazing how we focus on our past lives and elements of the past which influenced the ground we walk on today. One massive special part about the mining projects is how close to home the stories we tell are, all of the mines are local mines near us and this brings a sense of community engagement into our pieces. In early July we were involved in a festival called a life amongst diamonds. Got to work next to one of my best mates dash separated twin at birth, Tom Osborne. And mention to Mathew Tordoff who was one of the youngest actors in the piece and new all his lines before any of us, that boy is going to be talented when he’s older so watch out. I just have always had a soft spot for the mining projects because it different to normal things we do with yew tree and really allows us to reflect on our roots behind us. 

LAMDA Exams 

An achievement and a half. Anyone who knows about or has done Lamda exams knows how hard and stressful the process can be but all the hard work you put it in is returned. Over the past 3 year I’ve completed my level 5, Bronze, Silver and Gold awards in Acting. What I’ve loved about Lamda is it makes us a better actor because your studying different plays which all contrast, you never play the same type of character and this allows you to learn more about how to create character interpretation but also gives you an experience of trying new things. I do believe the Lamda sessions have helped me improve as an actor and allowed meet focus on voice and characterisation. I would recommend to anyone to sit Lamda exam due to skills you earn but also you gain UCAS points which helped me get into University of Leeds to study Theatre and Performance. 

See, I hope that this isn’t the end for my relationship with Yew Tree as hopefully ill still be here to try get involved and help around mainly because I’m not ready to loose the amazing skills Sarah has taught me throughout my time. I’ve made friends for life and I’ve been reconnected with people from when I was younger (Maddie) and its been a ride and a battle sometimes but I wouldn’t change anything about my time. So happy I just put myself out there for everything. Everyone really needs to understand how much work, energy and passion Sarah puts into each and everyone of her students and she is an extremely talented person and I want to thank her for anything she’s helped me with so far.

So yeah, this isn’t a leaving blog anymore its more of a reflection about my time. Because like said I’m not ready to leave such an amazing family. 

Looks like I best go get ready to perform ‘To see you at last’ at OWLSPOT Theatre, Tokyo! I wouldn’t be here without everything Yew Tree has given me.

Dec