Approaching the grand finale of our efforts...

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It’s Saturday night…it’s five to nine and I’m done for the day – all scheduled rehearsals have been executed as planned…I’ve checked I have all the pieces of paper necessary for tomorrow, I’ve made sure as far as possible everybody knows where they need to be, when they need to be there and what with.  As is always the case, despite handing out information since September, I’m still getting messages sent through as I watch Strictly with last minute questions but I don’t mind as you simply can’t put on a show with over 160 young people aged 5 – 19 years old without it being a full time job as we approach the grand finale of our efforts.

The other reason I don’t mind is that the sheer amount of effort and energy that has been invested by the cast is both admirable and energizing…I say cast, there is an equal amount of investment from parents too.  In the next 5 days we will bring all that effort, energy, organization and creativity to a head…there’s still the last push to do but at this point in the proceedings I like to relish what has already been achieved…because in the last three months I have listened rapt as people found their voice, watched with happiness as others found a sense of place and experienced such a sense of joy as still others overcame huge barriers of confidence and belief to get where they found themselves today. 


Of course performance week is as the title suggests all about the performance but for me it’s about something else too…it’s about the journey each member of each company has taken to get to there…Orange, Ruby, Sapphire, Crimson and Gold Company…it’s been an absolute delight to take that journey with you…have the best performance week…I’ll be cheering you on (very quietly of course) from the wings…

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