BLOG: Alek

DAY 1- Monday’s First Moon

Click! The small bell on the dial flashed before the speaker let out a short ring.

“Yes?” Said the speaker.

“I’m here for my work experience,” I replied.

“Of course! Come on in!”

The glass doors slid open as I walked towards the wooden staircase. The building was well illuminated, similarly to a fancy hotel’s hallway. Every step I took was replied by an echo.

“Hello Alek! How are you?”

I spun around- startled with the sudden greeting, given to me by Lydia. After meeting the rest of the staff and a short read of all the work experience booklet (found in the folder on my desk) I was given a tour of the whole theatre- starting from the upper floor.

Lydia guided me up a spiral staircase, covered in matte black paint and through a wooden door. Beyond it, was a long hallway with a well-lit ceiling, high above me. I was unable to see all rooms, as they were either being used or I’ve already been in them, but the green room did catch my eye. It had a very snug and calming atmosphere- with a bookshelf in the left corner, a red sofa in front of it, a small kitchen, and a large table. Following Lydia back to the stairwell, we went deeper into the theatre, beneath the surface of the stage. Into the basement.

Before entering the maze, an iron gate stood before me (well, not an actual gate- a regular door, but I wanted to create a bit of a medieval atmosphere).

“He who wants to pass wants to pass, must give the answer to my riddle!”- it spoke.

Back to a normal atmosphere- I was told the passcode to the basement. I was able to find many interesting rooms with props, tech, materials for prop making and a piano next to the lift- although not accessible. I was explained to that I will need to go back down here for other items when necessary. In fact, shortly after I helped bring some props for Solar’s lessons, I returned downstairs to make a sign for them- as an extra prop and I must admit that I felt very proud of my creation.

15:30- I was informed about my next task. Lydia gave me a camera and explained a few essential functions on it.

“You will be taking some photos of the students in the group Next Steps but avoid the ones with the red name tags at all costs!”

“Why?” I asked, partially terrified of what lies ahead.

“They just don’t have photo permission from their parents”

“Oh”- I should’ve guessed that.

The group had many wonderful students, all equally creative. Their teacher Jen informed me before the lesson, that the focus of today’s session would be the last day of primary school/first day of secondary school as that is the situation for all of them. Many games were played then, some voting, freeze frames and silent activities. In the end the children were all very joyful, and mostly calm.

Break time, 25 minutes of chilling and eating some food before entering Solar’s group.

18:30- all the participants of Solar entered the theatre, with bright smiles on their faces.

When they walked into the performance room, I started taking some pictures with the camera, although before the next activity begun, their group leader Mariño encouraged me to take part in practice for their play. I was shocked by the extent of imagination used in the storyline, yet with great sense. A family enters a tech detox camp and ends up telling each other a story about Killer, fire robots that shoot laser beams out of their eyes and water clown soldiers fighting a battle for peace, with the end being clouds forming and everyone becoming friends.

After a few goodbyes, I exited the theatre at 20:30, exhausted by all the fun I had. Ready for the next day of work experience.

DAY 2- First Live Performance

It was a calm and sunny Tuesday. 11:30. Yet again, I’ve succeeded in being early. Today’s morning had a different turn of events, compared to yesterday. I’ve spent the first few hours writing out chapter 1, followed by some sorting out the photos that I took during yesterday’s lessons. I chose the best pictures and moved them all into folders on the computer. As soon as I entered the performance room I spoke to the teachers and waited for the children to enter for their lesson.

Today had a twist. Turns out that my work experience is taking place at the same time as sharing week, meaning that I can see all the hard work put into the Eclipse’s play. INCREDIBLE. The raw talent that was shown by the participants, was incredible. It was another creative play but based around the theme of superheroes and villains; how they fought against each other, with one side fighting against bullying, littering and theft (with that side obviously being the superheroes). One of the villains named Skeleton caught my attention with his incredible acting. The boy seemed very engaged in his role, almost as if he indeed was that villain. It was a fascinating experience.

I returned home with much to think about, in awe of the play I saw.

DAY 3- Calmer Than Before

I walk into the theatre- 11:26.

“Not bad” I thought to myself.

I walk up the stairs, through the spacious room and into the office. First task of the day: Photocopy 4 books, send the pages to Beccy as a jpg, crop them and rename them. Within 2-3 hours I’ve completed it all, whilst listening to a podcast. It was incredibly relaxing to do so. Right after that I took a break, went to the shop to buy some food, and walked back upstairs, into the green room. Surprisingly I was joined by all the other staff, making the room quite lively. After eating my food and a bit of chatting, I returned downstairs as the next session was about to begin. What I saw next surprised me…

ahead of me were the leaders of my youth theatre group Orbit. I was instantly greeted with a warming welcome. Yet again I was able to see the rehearsal and outcome of a group’s play. Equinox showed a spectacular performance. This one had the theme of Greed and its consequences. I was able to see so many fantastic and creative performances, and they were all incredibly comedic. 1 hour after Equinox’s performance, it was time for my group’s rehearsal and final performance. I was quite nervous at first but ended up having a lot of fun.

DAY 4- Different Locations

11:34. Today begun in a rather boring way, but I’m always happy to help others. I started off by cleaning two suitcases and their contents, as they were previously used for a children’s playtime session. I sorted out some more photos from the performances I’ve watched for the past two days and took a break. After that I went to the bus stop with Jen for the Next Steps session, which took place in a studio at Poplar Baths. I had so much fun there and it seemed like everyone had a splendid time. It was constant game playing, followed by sharing some thoughts on transferring from year 6 to year 7.

DAY 5- Today

I entered the theatre at 9:56. 4 minutes early.

First thing I did was sit down at my desk and finishing of my work experience blog (the bit of writing you are currently reading). It is now 11:15 and I’m pretty much done with it. Now I will just write a review on a digital show from the Half Moon and try to take the crisp packets to co-op to recycling.

This week flew by so fast, and I wish that I could extend it to two weeks, but my school wouldn’t let that happen for any students. I greatly enjoy spending time at this theatre and hope to work here in the future. The next time I’ll be here is Wednesday, for my last session with Orbit, and I’m looking forward to it.