Morning All.
Would be nice if Winter would let go of its untimely grip on Spring please?
What a fantastic morning I had yesterday. Having had a very nice chat with a taxi driver about the fact that it was the end of March and he hadn't pruned his roses yet, I arrived in Upton Park for a performance of our touring show Mullered at St Bonaventure's Catholic Boys school. And it was a bon adventure!
It was a warm and welcoming reception at St Bon's and I was excited to see the Mullered team as I haven't been out with the show now for a couple of weeks, (well four John informs me - oops!)
They are organised like a military operation under Natalie's leadership, and they are a wonderfully supportive and tight team. That's Nat, John, Karl and Jordan pictured here with 13-year old Arghya who had become a member of the team before the morning was out!
Its great to be out on the ground with the show, as no amount of pontificating or philosophising about what we do can substitute for the real thing. The transformation of spaces and the engagement of hearts, minds and souls in a shared experience. Its what its about, a bit of community storytelling on an ordinary day in a place where children come to learn. I love working in schools with all their challenges, frustrations and joys! And make no mistake they are tough places to work, as well as excite you they can also zap your energy in a moment. Teachers are on the front line daily dedicated to doing their very best to inspire and ignite children's learning often against the most difficult of odds. And they mostly achieve the impossible.
So its easy for us, a travelling band of storytellers to go into a school and weave a bit of magic for an hour or so. We don't have to sustain the ongoing
relationships and contain a large number of competing challenges. We might get the best really for a short time.
And yesterday was one such best time. The boys entered the hall with the usual and expected boisterousness of a group of 150 13 year olds. Testosterone flying - you could smell it in the air! (sorry if that offends at this time in the morning!). But this energy which can seem anarchic is of course full of promise and possibility - its what I love about this age group.
Within moments of the show beginning the space is transformed into a theatre and off we go. The show is well embedded now, apart from a few notes and gentle tweaks I am broadly happy with it. The comedy is working particularly well and Olly's writing rhythm hitting most of its marks now. The confidence of good timing and an intriguing story and characters hold the room. And the boys are fully with us. Its a joy.
As the discussion finishes at the end of the show - I am approached by a young man who says to me "Miss, that was an excellent play, and very educational". These measured and adult words came from Arghya, who clearly wanted to talk. There were a couple of others who came up to join him, and by happy coincidence one is Olu, the brother of Freya one of my Cinderella chorus last year. He asked me if I had directed Cinderella and we had a momentary lovely reminisce.
I asked the boys if I could have an impromptu chat with them about their responses to the show, and ever keen to capture such opportunities I whipped out my Iphone and got filming (bit of a grand word!). This is the link - you will see what I mean about Arghya! My friend Amari suggested that he is a leader of the future and perhaps the Eton boys should keep a look over their shoulder! I concur.
I am looking forward now to John writing a guest blog for me over the next week or so with notes from the road.
Great morning, and a good reminder about why I spent hours on Sunday writing funding bids! I am really proud of our team!
Have a lovely day.
This schools tour of Mullered by Clifford Oliver is made possible by the generous sponsorship of British Transport Police.
Would be nice if Winter would let go of its untimely grip on Spring please?
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| St Bonaventure's School in Upton Park - Newham |
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| Arghya Bormon with Team Mullered! |
They are organised like a military operation under Natalie's leadership, and they are a wonderfully supportive and tight team. That's Nat, John, Karl and Jordan pictured here with 13-year old Arghya who had become a member of the team before the morning was out!
Its great to be out on the ground with the show, as no amount of pontificating or philosophising about what we do can substitute for the real thing. The transformation of spaces and the engagement of hearts, minds and souls in a shared experience. Its what its about, a bit of community storytelling on an ordinary day in a place where children come to learn. I love working in schools with all their challenges, frustrations and joys! And make no mistake they are tough places to work, as well as excite you they can also zap your energy in a moment. Teachers are on the front line daily dedicated to doing their very best to inspire and ignite children's learning often against the most difficult of odds. And they mostly achieve the impossible.
So its easy for us, a travelling band of storytellers to go into a school and weave a bit of magic for an hour or so. We don't have to sustain the ongoing
relationships and contain a large number of competing challenges. We might get the best really for a short time.
And yesterday was one such best time. The boys entered the hall with the usual and expected boisterousness of a group of 150 13 year olds. Testosterone flying - you could smell it in the air! (sorry if that offends at this time in the morning!). But this energy which can seem anarchic is of course full of promise and possibility - its what I love about this age group.  |
| Arghya, Olu, Andre,Paul, Bengelino,Alton Ajay. |
As the discussion finishes at the end of the show - I am approached by a young man who says to me "Miss, that was an excellent play, and very educational". These measured and adult words came from Arghya, who clearly wanted to talk. There were a couple of others who came up to join him, and by happy coincidence one is Olu, the brother of Freya one of my Cinderella chorus last year. He asked me if I had directed Cinderella and we had a momentary lovely reminisce.
I asked the boys if I could have an impromptu chat with them about their responses to the show, and ever keen to capture such opportunities I whipped out my Iphone and got filming (bit of a grand word!). This is the link - you will see what I mean about Arghya! My friend Amari suggested that he is a leader of the future and perhaps the Eton boys should keep a look over their shoulder! I concur.
I am looking forward now to John writing a guest blog for me over the next week or so with notes from the road.
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| Natalie and the boys - the unseen glamorous bit of schools touring! |
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| Very lovely and helpful caretaker! |
Have a lovely day.
This schools tour of Mullered by Clifford Oliver is made possible by the generous sponsorship of British Transport Police.
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