My Time at The Watermill Theatre!

7 March 2011

By Ruby Field, Performing Arts Student at Worcester College of Technology

I had heard a lot about The Watermill, about how eccentric and wonderful the environment and atmosphere is within the theatre. I decided that taking a placement further away from my hometown would enable me to become more independent and allow me to learn new skills and for the future. After a short interview and tour of the theatre last year with Beth Flintoff, I was awarded the opportunity to work for the week at the theatre, which I was very excited about.

I spent the first two days working with Lizzie on the holiday course, ‘Play in a Day’ with young people aged eight to sixteen. This course let the children’s creative and imaginative minds run wild to allow them to create a play in one day and then perform to their parents and guardians at the end of the day. I had a lot of fun working with Lizzie – the children worked extremely well and I felt that they were all motivated and dedicated to create a fabulous performance. There was a huge difference between the two age groups. The younger group were more teacher-led, with Lizzie and I feeding them ideas, whereas the older group were very creative and had lots of ideas of their own. The course was a success and the children and parents seemed to be very satisfied with what was produced.

During my second week, Beth and I travelled around local primary schools to start the Federation project. This project enables the schools to collaborate and create a performance of The Green of The Spring to be performed at The Watermill in June. In the workshops it was great to watch the children gradually let go of their inhibitions and just perform freely. A favourite for me was the visit to Inkpen Primary School. I felt so inspired after this workshop, we had a young boy that had one-to-one help with a teacher and after the workshop the teacher explained that this was the first time she had ever seen him get involved so willingly.

On Wednesday I spent the morning assisting Lizzie and Sarah with the ‘Waterminis’. This weekly lesson allows younger children ages 20 months to four years to learn basic drama skills. I had a lot of fun working with this age group, joining with the poems, songs and games that they played. Some of the children were quite wary of me but by the end of the session they were holding my hand and telling their mothers about the ‘new teacher’. I think in some of the games my inner young childlike behaviour came out, and to Sarah’s amusement, Lizzie and I were extremely focused in the game of musical statues! In the afternoon I was put on the task of office work to gain a little experience with the promotion side of the industry. Letters about the performance of The Wind in the Willows needed putting envelopes for schools and past reviews, photos and letters needed to be transferred into a different folder. I found this really interesting as it allowed me to read through different reviews from previous shows performed at The Watermill.

For the rest of the week I was able to broaden my experience further within another part of the industry. I helped the ‘Front of House’ team on the Thursday matinee and evening performance. I was asked to sell programmes in the foyer of the theatre and was given the chance to watch the performance of ‘Relatively Speaking’. The performance was very humorous, the actors captured the audience and received fantastic reactions and responses. It was lovely hearing such positive comments from the audience as they came out of the theatre. My time at the theatre has come to an end, I have gained so much experience and skills that I will be able to use in future life. The theatre is a beautiful place and I would most definitely visit again. What a week it has been and how lovely it is to end on an extra with watching ‘An Audience with Alan Titchmarsh’! I appreciate all of the help and willingness of all of the staff at the Watermill; it has been an exciting experience.