Layla's 2022 Blog

So now Connor is gone, I’ve tried to write a long blog. It’s not as long as his, don’t think anyone can write as much as Connor did. But hey ho, I’ll give it a go. Sit back and enjoy.

2022 has been a really good year for me. Starting with Connections. My third connections and one of my favourites, the play was Hunt, and I played Lisa, who was a character nobody wanted to play. I was original double cast as Lisa and other character, but chose to just play Lisa and that was best choice I ever made as Lisa was such a fun character to play. Having so many good moments, from falling off a box and getting paint all over my costume and spending 15 minutes on stage on my phone. Hunt was the best experience of my life, and getting to work with Grace was so nice, never worked together before and it was fun getting to know her. Also, my last connections with my closest friend at yew tree, Lucy, after we performed in Sheffield, it was the best time I had ever seen and was so proud of her. And saying goodbye to her was the hardest goodbye I have ever had to do. Also, saying goodbye to Chloe, who is an amazing actor and someone I look up to and admire, Connor, who even though we were close, was sad to see go, Connor was an amazing performer and I loved watching as Steve (and the bullet) and Brooke, who I only met that year, but is one of the sweetest human beings ever, and seeing her cheering us on in Sheffield was a treat. And I everyone else, Alice as Gina, omg you were so funny and a pleasure to work with. Nat as Jamie, made the character so much more than a new member of the group, made them a character wanting to route for in the relationship they had with Jo. Arwen, you were amazing and I got goose bumps as Mad Danielle, and your Jo in Sheffield was amazing. Grace, my partner in crime, that orange throwing was my favourite part of the show. Jeevan, your Steve was so funny. (And your Carly). Emma your Peter was so good and i was so proud to see you back into acting. Eliana, your Carly was the best performance I’ve seen you in. Becca, you grew so much as an actor and it was a pleasure to see. And Sam, you were amazing on sound and the best stage manger ever. Special shout out to Jeevan’s mum, walking in first to our Sheffield performance (we all said you would). And working with John as assistant director was a new connections experience. Having a lesson in swearing was the funniest things ever. He was so supportive and didn’t hesitate to tell us when something could be changed, learning well from Sarah.

Then, my grade 7 lamda exam, doing three speeches was a challenge. But i loved working on speeches by Brecht and Shakespeare is always great. Then moving on to Merlin and Morgana and playing King Arthur. We only had a couple of weeks to put it together and I had a lot of long paragraphs to learn. But other than all those lines to learn, it was such a fun experience. Working really closely with Jeevan as Merlin was an absolute treat, as we hadn’t really had the chance to work closely due to most of characters having lack of interaction, but having to watch Jeevan not be able click his fingers was the funniest. (Sorry Jeevan). Working with Alise again was a joy, she always works so hard and it inspires me to work as hard as her. And Cait as my Guinevere was a treat also, as they are so talented. But unfortunately they were sick the day of the performance and couldn’t go on. Luckily we had Fern and she stepped in to save the day, and she was amazing, stepping in at the last minute.

Then, to add to a busy year was Brexit, what a song and dance the musical. At first I was really scared, singing in front of people has always been one of my biggest fears and I was really struggling with my confidence. But then after a lot of conversations with Sam, who by the way stepped in last minute to fill in for a part when someone dropped out, but was one the supportive people who helped me with my confidence to be a little bit more confident in me. The performances went great. Ellie rocked her song, almost making me cry. Olli was amazing, again almost making me cry with nobody knows my name, and John stealing the show with deal or no deal, making the whole cast sing along. And then Alice Lamb singing her heart out. And Jeevan, oh Jeevan, you tried your best and you were amazing. And the whole cast were amazing. Nat, and your amazing Swedish accent. Fern and our amazing dancing in you move now. Robin, and your sausage headband (still don’t know where you found that Robin, but it was amazing). Becca, your clogs necklace was amazing. And then came time for me to sing what is fear. And despite my anxiety, I got up there and sing my heart out. And I think seeing Sarah and Oz in the back celebrating as I sing really made me feel more confident and happy with my performance. And getting to meet Jamie, who wrote the songs for the musical was a treat, and seeing him sit in the front smiling all the way through made me and the cast so happy and proud to perform it. And of course, can’t forget you Ash. You were a pleasure to work with and you taught me how hold a mic properly, an you also were so supportive of everyone, bring keys down in songs, believing in us and filling in for Sarah for two weeks, we couldn’t have done it without you. And also your reaction to the BBC theme was amazing. Overall, I really miss Brexit, it was a fun time, with feather boas and John in a Trump wig (still got that photo of John’s wig on a flag backstage) and the singing along to Independence day and finally be confident in my voice was the best time.

In October I did two projects with Sarah, the miners memorial service in Rotherham, and the Big Conversation for Wakefield council. I have done 4 (i think I lost count) miners memorial services and I love doing them, bringing the stories of those men, women and children to life and remembering their deaths really makes an impact on you. And hearing the stories from the miners and listening to them speak is the best, getting to hear their experiences opens our eyes to how lucky we are. The Big Conversation was a something I signed up for not really knowing what it was. But when I learnt what it was about, I felt honoured to be part of it, and show what the people of Wakefield wanted for their future. And working with Jacob always puts a smile on my face.

In September (sorry for the wrong order but it fits better like this) I moved up to black company, meeting people like Ricky, who as soon as met him welcomed me in with open arms and made everyone laugh. Also, being around Arwen, Callum and Olli, who I knew very well due to previous connections and Olli being in Brexit. But we started with a bang doing Radio for 1940’s day last month and I loved it. Working with Ricky on a physical theatre moment was so fun, even if we did struggle at first. But, Radio was and is so great to perform. I loved watching it a couple years ago and love performing it. Then connections 2023 started and we chose The Heights, which Sarah did in 2009, with people like Dee (who taught me dance when I was little). And I got cast as Bizzy, who nobody (including me) picked to audition for. But when I read the script over as Bizzy, she is actually very interesting, and so far she is really fun, can’t wait to explore her more. Then the Christmas show day was busy but so fun. Sarah asked us to come earlier so we could practice as Callum and Ricky were in London, Becca had car trouble and Arwen was in Scotland, and Jeevan was sick and late. Unfortunately Kirsty can’t perform, so I then got paired with Nat in radio and anytime I get to work with Nat, it’s a treat. And we are performing Little Red Riding Hood, which at first (honestly) was a bit meh about, but i warmed up to it when we started doing physical theatre (which I love ) doing things like peeling, weaving and running in a semi circle without knocking Callum out. (And being the grandma is pretty fun) and I can’t wait for everyone to enjoy Radio and LRRH.

Overall, 2022 was a sad, happy, stressful and overall good year for me. And 2023 has already got so much in store. My last acting lamda exam ( probably gonna cry after that ) ,maybe my last connections (again probably will cry) and starting a whole new adventure with musical theatre exams. And I want to say thank you to Sarah, for you always being supportive of me (sometime tough love), pushing me to do things I didn’t think I would ever do, and always being proud of me. Over the last 11 years (almost 12 years) I’ve known you, Thank you for everything. (and putting up with my tears from time to time).