What Caroline Said: Transformative Skills

I’m not an actor. I’m a university lecturer. My experience demonstrates that being in a theatre group doesn’t mean you have to work in theatre in the future. I’d like to explain how the skills that I developed from being part of YTYT 20 years ago have been transformative and shaped who I am today.

Communication Performance is a form of communication. As a lecturer and leader in higher education, I “perform” regularly as have to speak publicly and articulate my message clearly. One of my strong beliefs as an educator is that it is my job to make my audience understand my point; it’s not the audience’s job to decipher my meaning. I also bring a human approach to my lecturers by being expressive when I speak and actively listening to my students. Before being a lecturer, I taught English abroad for several years which meant that I was often communicating across language barriers. The use of non-verbal and paralinguistic features of communication (body language, gestures, facial expressions, tone and pitch of voice) help to convey meaning and facilitate communication. Awareness of communication beyond words is a skill which I began developing at YTYT.

Teamwork & Collaboration One of the main features of YTYT which I enjoyed the most was working closely with others toward a shared goal. Some of the relationships I developed at YTYT are lifelong. I was often amazed by the different ideas that people came up with when devising a piece, and the talents that people around me displayed. I take this with me in my daily working life; the colleagues that I work with have different strengths which I can learn from. The friendships I made at YTYT have also enriched my personal life and I am beyond grateful that some of these connections are still with me as I approach the age of 40. 

Confidence & PresenceI am particularly passionate about the role of women in leadership positions, and the challenges that we face. I have learnt a lot from more experienced women in academia and leadership and attempt to emulate the confidence that they have developed. I felt a very similar as a 16 year old in YTYT; some people were able to perform with ease and, seemingly, a lack of nerves. My insecurities and self-doubt were something I had to overcome. Performing in front of an audience, believing in one’s ideas, taking risks in a safe environment with no fear of judgement, and having the gumption to express oneself are skills which I began develop at YTYT. Imposter-syndrome still rears it’s ugly head, but must be fought against.

Pursuing Passions As well as being an academic, I am a mother. I have two wonderful children who are two and four years old (and a seven year old dog!).  My partner and I do not have local support from extended family and we both have jobs, and so the juggle of parenting and careers is a task we face on a daily basis. However, we ensure that we both make time to pursue our own interests and take care of our physical and mental well-being. For me, this is through reading, swimming and watching theatre. The saying goes: “you can’t pour out of an empty cup.” In order for me to be the best parent I can be, I need to fill my own cup by doing other things which I enjoy. When I was a 17 year old studying for A-levels and working as a waitress, I continued to attend YTYT even though my anxieties around my future academic achievements meant that writing and revising would have taken over my life had I let it. Allowing space in a packed schedule for enjoyment is vital for mental health.

Final thoughts… My role at work now also involves leadership in a newly formed “School of English” at Manchester Metropolitan University. “Manchester Theatre School” sits within the School of English. I am thrilled to be more directly in contact with Performance again. I work with colleagues in Acting and Performance programmes to support their internationalisation strategy in order to provide all students with an international experience while at university. This role has enabled me to travel as far as China and India to develop partnerships. Observing and learning from other cultures is something which fascinates me; I support all students to become “global citizens” through the development of intercultural communicative competence. 

Something which surprised me about working in higher education is how dedicated and approachable the staff are to their students. It is our aim to support the next generation of talent and foster their skills as they develop. This is something which Sarah and YTYT did for me all those years ago for which I am truly grateful. For current YTYT attendees, it may be hard to see where you will be in a few years, let alone 20! There will be many twists and turns on the way, and many paths from which to choose. Use the confidence which you have developed through performance to take the path which YOU want to, even though this may not be the one that is the most predictable. 

My stage is now a lecture theatre and the audience are students from all over the world. It is also the living room as a read stories to my children. There are many stages to perform on and to use the skills you have developed at YTYT, not just those behind red velvet curtains.