The idea of work experience scared me at first because it made me realise that I am coming to the end of school. I am 14 years old and I had never thought about work experience before due to my age, It made me realise that I now have to make big decisions towards my future which makes me anxious and feel massively unprepared , and I think that was because I wasn’t entirely familiar with what it meant. I imagined it to be full of hard tasks and high expectations, which made me hesitant towards it all. However I realised over time that that is not the case. I learnt that I could pick and do anything I wanted to do to actively help towards my future.
I always knew I wanted to do musical theatre so I knew that work experience would be an opportunity for me to go a step further. Due to the nature of the work experience I wanted to do I realised that there is not many places in Skelmersdale that provide what I was looking for, but, I managed to find a place that was just outside of Skelmersdale that provided just what needed. They had a music tech course which was something different but something I knew I would enjoy. I felt miles better knowing I had secured a place and that it was actually something I wanted to do. At the last minute my placement was cancelled which brought all the nerves I felt before right back.
I knew that I had to think fast so I would have placement in time, but wasn’t sure how I was going to go about that. After having a long chat with one of my teachers we emailed Artz and I was kindly offered a place for my work experience and knew that the Artz Centre was going to be the right place for me to go it provides everything that I need to gain more knowledge of musical theatre and what goes on behind the scenes. I have been going to the Artz Centre for 6 years as a student and I am about to hit 30 shows. Throughout them years I have learnt so many things; the enterprise project over lockdown, doing classes online, filming self tapes and monologues for sing it and say it. The reason I knew it was definitely the place for me is because I feel like I fit in and that me and all the people there are actively working towards a musical theatre career.
This week has been insightful, I’ve got to see what goes on behind the scenes at the Artz Centre. I had never really thought about the behind the scenes but as I have got older I have thought about it much more. This week I have learnt about things I’ve never even given a second thought about, putting together a dance show, prop lists, audition criteria, talent shows and festivals. Even though I am familiar with them words it is completely different on the other side of things. One thing that stood out to me this week was sitting in on a meeting with Mark, (Executive Director) it was really fascinating getting to see a part of something that I have been interested in for a while, the meeting made me realise that the arts is not only just about theatre, its about community and bringing all different types of people together.
“Whether it be music, drama, singing and dance, the arts provides a safe space for people and a platform for connection; it creates a community were everyone can feel valued.” I have definitely learnt that a lot this week working with the Artz Leadership Team Mark and Joe and Sophie.
This week I took part in a dance class which is something I am not very familiar with, I have always felt like I was not a good dancer, so I sheltered myself from any kind of dance because I always felt like I was going to embarrass myself. Doing the dance class this week was me stepping out of my comfort zone. Sophie (Dance Teacher) made us do a dance move that I had never done before which made me feel full of anxiety. But I was able to get rid of any anxiety in my body when Sophie came over to help me, she ran through the move step by step with me and told me to go and practice the move. I went away and practiced the move and I decided to do it again on my own which I would never of done a couple of months ago. Sophie left me to do the dance move on my own which helped me to step outside of my comfort zone.
This experience has not only improved my skills but also added to my love and appreciation for the arts community and the Artz Centre team. I am excited to see what journey I go on next.