A year ago, I told our company that I wanted to write a book for our students — one that would explain all the important things we teach at Theatretrain.
I set to work, knowing that my wide target audience, aged 9 to 18, wouldn’t thank me for page after page of words. But something fortunate happened. One of our parents at Theatretrain Northampton turned out to be the highly successful children’s book illustrator, Alex Willmore.
We met, I explained what I wanted to create, and very quickly it became clear that this book should be half words and half pictures. Together we developed four characters: Maya, Max, Ellie and Liam. Alongside the skills and ideas being explained, these four friends would appear throughout the book as lively cartoon characters. Maya became something of a natural leader. Max was initially shy and not quite sure whether Theatretrain was for him. Ellie was mad about dance and rarely stopped moving, while Liam loved singing — but also rather enjoyed being the centre of attention.
By the time we had finished, the book ran to 110 pages. Alex is a busy man, but somehow, he found the time to create all the illustrations we needed. We were working towards a May deadline because the book then had to be laid out by Jacqui Adams, who has designed our theatre programmes for many years.
After that came the printing — 4,000 copies — followed by the slightly less glamorous challenge of getting them delivered to a hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, where our Company Directors were gathering for our annual July conference. Every copy had to be counted out company by company so Directors could take their allocation home with them.
What do our students get from the book, beyond the words, pictures and explanations? I hope they get something they can carry with them on their Theatretrain journey. Something that helps them understand not just what we do, but why we work in the way we do.
At the back are a couple of pages where they can record the Theatretrain shows they have appeared in, together with the venue and the name of each production. That makes the book personal. Over time, it becomes partly a handbook and partly a record of their own Theatretrain story.
Last Saturday, the copies were given free to every student aged 9 and over. New students will receive theirs once they have completed a term and shown that they are committed to being part of the company. I hope that the book won’t simply disappear onto a shelf or get lost under a bed. I hope students will return to it from time to time and recognise more in it as they grow. And perhaps, years from now, when they have long since left Theatretrain and gone out into the world, they will pick it up again and realise that some of what they learnt through the performing arts was not only about performing – it was about life.
And Maya, Max, Ellie and Liam will have a life beyond these pages too. I’ve now written a story about them in which they discover and rescue a neglected theatre. So, in a way, the four characters who began life helping to explain Theatretrain are now setting off on an adventure of their own.
