BLOG: Giovanna

26 July 2019 | Work Experience

Day 1

Monday was my first day experiencing the life of work in the most inspiring place. I was excited! I woke up at 8:30am every day, and when I told my friends about this they could not believe it. They laughed at me and asked why I needed so much time. The answer to that question was simple: I didn’t. I was just too excited to sleep any longer. I put on the clothes that I had already picked out, packed my bag with my lunch and rapidly walked out of my house. I was scared of missing the bus, as the next bus would make me late and to be honest I am always late. Once I was supposed to meet my friends at 12:00 and I only managed to get there at 2:00. In conclusion, this was not the first impression I wanted to make. So I ran and I made it.

The next 20 minutes were torture. The traffic seemed to go on forever and people became angrier and angrier. I was left alone with only the music I was listening to and my thoughts. My mind wandered about how cool it was going to be, experiencing work for the first time; I was thrilled about this opportunity. I walked in and everyone welcomed me with beaming smiles, and I wondered how everyone could be so nice on a Monday morning. Especially Stephen, who had just run a 10k marathon the previous day, was all smiles. I was ready and eager to start now more than ever.

The start of the day was a bit hectic, as Androulla gave me the grand tour. I felt honoured to discover ‘secret’ parts of the Half Moon, which I was never allowed in before when I did Careers in Theatre. I was even more surprised. I started the day with a workload that I was enthusiastic and eager to finish. I sat at my allocated computer and just got on with it. I’m normally really shy when I meet people for the first time, so I just did my work quietly and in focus mode. I was determined to finish all of it that day.

One of the best things about doing my work experience in Half Moon, was the freedom I was able to have during my breaks.

The work I had to do was simple. I got given a stack of teacher evaluations, for a programme that the Half Moon had done (and still does) with Year 6 students transitioning into secondary school. While I typed this up on the computer, I wondered about how lucky these kids were to have been given so much support in a new stage of their lives. When I was in Year 6, which was nearly five years ago, we didn’t have this; we got lots of help from our teachers, but this workshop seems like such a fun way to address anxieties and worries. I mean, I’m not jealous, but I hope these kids realise how lucky they truly are.

Some of the other work I had to do might sound boring to some, but for me this was thrilling because I love neatness, so this was right up my alley. I also got to use the paper trimmer/cutter, which was honestly really therapeutic and it got me up on my feet for a little while, which was nice. I also read 3-4 blogs to see how to start mine off, just as some inspiration.

Day 2

Today was less hectic, as I knew what to do and I had to finish things off for the previous day. One of the most fun things I did on this day was sit in for auditions on a new project. It was incredible. I extremely enjoyed seeing actors, who are older than I am, have so much energy. It inspired me profusely and it helped me see a new side of drama.

Day 3

Today was even more fun, as I sat in a rehearsal. It was so fun and time flew by without us noticing. I helped by doing the sound and some script fix-up which was fun, as I had never done sound before. I think the best part about it all was that I got to see the play that was part of the Year 6 project (which I had become kind of passionate about). It’s honestly amazing how good the play really is, as often the workshops we have in school don’t seem to have as much effort put into them as this one does.

Day 4

Today was a chilled day, as I did more admin work and then sat in on an evaluation for a project. It was really interesting, as I learned more about the different jobs in the drama industry and how evaluations and team meetings work. I also learned about jobs and job titles, and overall learned things I didn’t know before.

Day 5

Today felt a bit gloomy because it was my last day, but I still really enjoyed it. I did some more admin work and finished some things off from the previous day. I also had a conversation with Faye about how to be a director and what exactly it means, and I felt very inspired by her.

I think my experience in Half Moon was insightful and thought-provoking. It taught me so much about the industry. I’m so happy to have been given this opportunity, and I’m incredibly inspired by all the wonderful people that work at Half Moon.

Giovanna came to us from George Green’s School (Tower Hamlets), 22nd July – 26th July 2019.

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PerformanceWorks – Summer School 2019

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Running 10K for Half Moon

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