A couple of weeks ago I was explaining that our next show will be our 100th and it is scheduled for the Royal Albert Hall in September 2023.
Recently we sent out one-page explaining how it will work. We want all our pupils, their families, our teachers, and our centre directors to join us in making the content for the show.
We start with two questions…
What is wrong with the world?
What can we do to fix it?
“Humour is a great way of examining seemingly serious things.”
It sounds a bit serious, and I suppose it partly taps into our fears for the future. But it doesn’t have to be serious. Humour is a great way of examining seemingly serious things. Then our job as educators and creatives is to find ways of bringing it alive in a way that will entertain and delight. Now we wait to see what will come back. I can’t wait to see what we get. A sentence or 6 pages are equally interesting. I love the idea that young people can make a performance using their ideas and then present it to the world. It’s not just about the end result (important though that be) it’s also about the journey of making it work.
“The effort of dragging huge stones on the ground was enormous.”
I always think of the story that the theatre director, Peter Brook told about the ancient Aztec tribes of South America. They built many temples of stone on higher ground as an offering to the Gods. Many lives were lost as they dragged huge boulders up the mountainside and then lost control of them and were plunged down again. The effort of dragging huge stones on the ground was enormous. One day a man returned and watched the children playing. They were rolling large stones on twigs. The next day the tribe changed its approach to hauling the stones up the mountain. They cut down trees and hacked off the branches. Then they learnt to guide large stones on rollers and save many lives.
Maybe young people have simple solutions to a complex world, but sometimes maybe simple solutions are the very thing the world needs. As Greta Thunberg said, “I have learned you are never too small to make a difference.”
I hope we can do honour to the ideas we receive. I hope we can present a view of the world that will entertain and inform. And along the way I hope our young people learn something about how the performing arts can carry their thoughts, dreams, and fears to a place where they will be listened to and respected. Do the adults know all the answers?
Since 1992 Theatretrain students have been performing at venues such as the London Palladium, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the Royal Albert Hall. Our theatre schools across the United Kingdom have been providing young people with top quality part-time performing arts classes at weekends for almost 30 years. Without the cost of attending an expensive full-time stage school, Theatretrain is an excellent place to start your career in the performing arts. For further information about our weekly lessons in acting, singing, and dancing visit www.theatretrain.co.uk
