It’s a year this week that I started my job at Stage-Fright Theatre company. I packed up, left home and moved to a place I’d never heard of before with the dream of using drama to bring together communities, see young people grow in confidence and self worth and to be inspired and challenged.

A year on and I’m a very different person to the Hayley that arrived in Wokingham September 2009. I’m a year older, a year ‘wiser’ and able to refer to myself as a professional theatre practitioner without cringing and not really believing it (I still can’t say it without a grin though!). I’ve learnt a lot about the amount of patience I actually do have and how to be creative even when I’ve never felt more exhausted in my life! I have cried tears of joy and pride but also of loneliness and frustration. I’m more independent than I’ve ever been but at the same more dependent on God than I ever believed I could be.

There are many things that I’ve learnt this year, but the most important is that in any project that I’ve been apart of it’s the process not the end product that has been of the most value to those involved. Sure, the product is important in some aspects: producing a piece of theatre of which you are proud is fantastic! But nothing compares to the build up, forming relationships with the cast, seeing those bonds grow. Nurturing a seed of talent though encouragement and watching it develop into something quite beautiful.

I left university with the belief that drama can change and equip people. That it can give people confidence and skills that they need in their everyday life and work. I also was inspired to work within communities and see drama unite and build relationships with people who would not usually come into contact. These beliefs were based on what i’d read in books and journals, but now I can say hand on heart that I’ve seen it happen first hand.

Drama can change the world, one game of ZIp Zap Boing at a time…!

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