Chloe's Leavers Blog - finally :)

Our first Christmas Show blog is from Connor:

Today is the day...for remembering my time in Gold Company: So, that’s it. My time in Gold Company is finished. 945 days to be precise. I came into Gold, thanks go my good friend Elliyah, thinking that I might get rejected so I tried selling myself the second I could. I told Sarah things like how I was doing GCSE Drama and Music at the time just to make myself seem impressive, little did I know Yew Tree is nothing like that. And so, began the next chapter in my life. Instantly, I was thrown in the deep end. With the departure of one member of Gold, this left a vacancy that I had to fill. Let me just say, I was terrified. I remember that the first rehearsal in which I took part in properly I was so intimidated by everyone that I couldn’t look up. I just stared at the ground as the section we were working on didn’t have any lines of mine. Then I met a boy who was very similar to me in that sense. He tended to be quiet and kept things to himself. Those of you from Yew Tree already know who this is, but for those that don’t, it’s my best friend Nathan. Still to this day I don’t know how we started becoming friends and I don’t think he does either, but we did. And with that connection I made came a sense of relief. I no longer had to rely on Elliyah anymore, not that she was a problem because she’s lovely, and I could start being more independent at rehearsals. The thing with me and Nathan is, we brought each other out of our shells. By having the other there, we allowed ourselves to be more of who we are, knowing that we had someone else there who no matter what wouldn’t judge us for it. It’s also interesting how me and Nathan, in terms of energy levels and how that makes us act, are on completely contrasting ends of the spectrum. Opposite really do attract. During my time at Gold, I’ve had the honour of playing quite the collection of characters. I’ve been a Princey Boi, a Mining Boi, a Fairy Boi also an Evil Boi and many others. I could go into detail about them all, but I want to focus on that last one. See, I think I’m in a rare timeline where I didn’t peak in Gold until my final set of performances with them. With all the characters I’ve played already, Dave is up there as one of if not my most iconic now. Thing is, I wanted the Beast more to start with. The idea of getting those animalistic characterisations in there excited me. I also knew it was a safe option as I’ve been the Prince before, I already knew I could play that role. Instead, as Sarah tends to do, a curveball was thrown my way. I was now the villain. The role of the Beast was given to Taylor Hanson and he smashed it. Not only that, but the year before Taylor Caddick smashed it as the villain for The Three Musketeers. What I’m trying to say is, I was quite nervous all of a sudden…and also, Yew Tree has a lot of talented Taylors. Back to Dave though, and it turned out to be the most fun I’ve ever had with a role. Something about playing the bad guy while still being a massive dork is so much fun. He was the anti-prince. I even got to do another fight scene, which my highlight of last year’s shows. Another highlight of my time in Gold this year must be I got my brother to join. I had the opportunity to perform alongside my little bro and that was something special. I got to watch as he hit the ground running and bossed his first ever Yew Tree show. He was a lot better than I was when I started. Meaning, as one Monkman leaves another takes his place. Callum isn’t the only one of bossed Beauty and the Beast, the whole cast did. Seriously, everyone was amazing, and it has been a privilege to perform alongside you all. Yew Tree looks like it will forever be producing stars. Big shoutouts to Nathan, Dan, Maddie, Lara, Jacob, Ellie, Ben, Morgan, Taylor C, Taylor H, Jess, Mia, Chloe, Faith, Tom O, Lucy C, Lyla, Elliyah, Eve and literally everyone else who has been part of Gold Company while I’ve been there. You all made these 945 days an absolute joy and I’m so happy to have you as part of my life. You bring me so much joy and I really hope I’ve been able to do the same for you. However, the biggest shoutout has to go to Sarah. Without you I don’t become the actor or person I am today. You’ve repeatedly thrown challenge after challenge at me, and while I handled some better than others, I am so grateful that. And I look forward to continuing to work with you in Black and Connections. I cannot understate the amount of gratitude I have for this company. It has been a consistent joy in my life for over two years and was catalyst that sparked my passion for theatre. I don’t know where or who I’d be without Gold Company. With all that said, I will bid you adieu on what has been another long blog. One more time, thank you Gold Company!