Acting has to be one of the most demanding and unpredictable jobs in the business. It requires patience, determination and most of all talent. Ever since I was little I always dreamt of being on stage, to make people laugh and cry, and feel whatever I feel. From a very young age I was taken to see many plays and musicals all of which I loved, but all I wanted to do when watching was jump up on stage and be part of the performance.

Two and a half years ago, I joined a youth theatre. My friends dad who used to write for TV programmes such as Eastenders and Brookside, set it up and along with an English and Drama teacher Jackie Bode started 'The Whitchurch Youth Theatre'. At the start of the Youth Theatre there was four of us who regularly attended, but now two and a half years later there are about forty of us who are involved. So far, we have performed one show- Bugsy Malone in which I played one of the leading ladies 'Tallulah'. We have put on two reviews which included a number of songs, sketches, and dances, and more recently we have cast parts for our up and coming show 'Hiawatha' where I am playing the leading lady 'Minniehaha'.

The Youth Theatre has been a great part of my life, and my friends. It has helped us to become more confident, motivated and passionate about our work and the theatre. We have improved our singing with a specialised singing teacher called, David Bebbington, and we now have two near professional dancers in our group. Through the group I have made many friends and we have supported each other through all the long rehearsals and tiring practises.

There are many theatre groups across Great Britain, I believe that anyone should take part in these activities, because I believe that it will help everyone to become confident in speaking and focused in working in whatever career they choose.
© 1998 Freeway
Writers: Michelle Barlow (Bishop Heber High School)
HTML by: Johan Westin (nv00-53@park.se).