It’s Showtime!

You know that feeling when you have an essay looming and you’re panicking to get it done? Or the feeling you get when you’ve been told the job is yours? Feels a bit manic, doesn’t it? Well, the same feeling is felt just before you go on stage. True, some people remain calm in the face of challenge (good for you!), but most people, myself included, crap themselves. What do I do? Will I do it right? Will it ever end? There is a rush of blood to the head, a shake in the hands and then suddenly you’re out there. The Stage manager practically kicks you through the wings. You say your lines, try not to trip over the furniture or head-butt the co-star and before you know it, curtain down, rapturous applause and a bus home.

“Theatre is an extremely powerful tool that can change how you think, feel, respond and live.”

I have loved theatre for as long as I can remember, and even more so as a student, one who has even decided to study it. Properly and everything! So when I decided that I wanted to bring more students to the wonderful world of theatre and performance, it just sort of made sense. Sooooo many young people think theatre is too highbrow and out of their grasp for two reasons: either it is full of toffee-nosed thespians, blabbering on about Shakespeare, diction, Laurence Olivier and their black-filled wardrobe calling everyone “darling!” because they haven’t bothered to remember anyone’s name; or it is full of crazy “Arty-Farty” types who go round hugging peas, dancing on top of bus shelters and calling suicide art because it is all so meaningful and terribly important to society and performance and you must therefore have an IQ of a hamster if you don’t understand it.

But! Never fear! For the theatrical world is not full of those kinds of people. Sure, everyone is allowed their own creative stamp and way of expressing themselves, and there are plenty of nutters out there who will give anything a meaning, but if you delve deeper and take a good hard look at us- you’ll see we’re all pretty normal- and the Accidental Festival aims to bring people from as far and wide as possible. Theatre is an extremely powerful tool that can change how you think, feel, respond and live. I love getting “non-theatricals” involved in theatre. Taking them to shows, discussing my crazy days and telling them how brilliant it can be. I want you to come to this festival and have a great time and enjoy yourself. I want you to discover that taking a risk is no bad thing. But most of all I want you to come to this festival having learned one thing, and one thing only: theatre is AWESOME.

Now, back to that essay…