A word from Stan
My week of work experience at Quest Soul theatre
I was given an amazing opportunity from both my school (Langley Park School for Boys) to do a week of work experience with the Quest Soul Theatre. I was given the week of the 19th of June off to do work experience at any workplace of my choice.
My first challenge was finding a workplace that I felt was both relevant, a challenge for me and somewhere that I could learn. I knew that I wanted to work in theatre, so I thought of things I had and hadn’t done within theatre and began to look. I knew that I had done lots of acting, that I hadn’t done any community theatre in years, and that I hadn’t done any tech. I then emailed a few community theatres in Bromley and found that Quest Soul seemed to be the most willing and enthusiastic to have me on as well as meeting my requirements. We soon started talking about dates and what to do on each date. Before I knew it the first day rolled around and I set off.
On Friday the 16th of June I partook in an evening workshop which involved Greek theatre. I soon became comfortable working with the unfamiliar faces and learnt about using masks as well as a little bit about how each workshop is run.
On Monday the 19th of June I had a tour of Wickham Theatre and it’s tech. I learnt about both the software and hardware of lighting and sound; I found the software particularly interesting due to the fact that in my school’s classroom there is only a mechanical switch board for the lights and no software involved. I learnt about how Wickham Theatre is run and its origins.
On Tuesday the 20th of June I learnt about how Quest was run, its social media presence and planned the workshop for tomorrow morning which I would be running. I learnt about what a C.I.C is, applying for funding, LinkedIn and planning.
On Wednesday the 21st of June I ran the exercises of the workshop after planning the day on the day prior. I learnt about how Quest affects all kinds of people with different backgrounds in a positive manner.
On Thursday the 22nd of June I volunteered at St Edmund’s hall for a dementia café, where I helped put puzzles on the table, gave tea and coffee out, and spoke with various people affected by dementia, before having a little sing along.
I have learnt a lot from my week of work experience, from how a theatre works to how a C.I.C benefits a community and even to certain struggles that everyone goes through. No matter what I do in the future whether it’s theatre involved or not I will take what I learnt from this week and apply it to be kinder and more compassionate as all it may take for anyone to leave their shell is a little positive feedback and encouragement and they will come to life.
I would like to thank everyone involved with Quest Soul Theatre (especially Mercedes), Theatre 62, and the Dementia café for helping me along, giving me lots of experience for the real world and making me feel welcome!
