COMMUNITY
Everything stems from and begins with a community in this industry. I’ve had the privilege to be a part of many incredible examples of communities and I wanted to highlight them here <3
This high school drama department from Cambridge, MA still feels like another home to me. It’s where I began my road in theatre with the support of industry professionals, teachers and most importantly my peers.
As the new kid, and an exchange student, I was looking for “my thing”, seeking something I’d like to do and be passionate about. I was pulled into the autumn musical production, and asked what I’d like to do. It was an immediate no to being on stage… And an enthusiastic yes to being the sole student in charge of costumes with Alexa Steele, the costume designer.
In the role of costumer I got to know the cast and creatives well, and I learned about all the different roles that are essential to creating a production. And seeing everyone’s work come together was beyond impressive.
The support, love and encouragement of this company made a lasting impact on me. Even when thrown into the deep end, the way I was believed in gave me the determination to succeed, and I did!
CRLS
This volunteer run local theatre in my home city, Tampere, Finland, has given me the tools and confidence to really pursue a career in the field. I’ve gotten to try out a range of roles, like costuming, directing, producing, marketing, scripting, sets, lighting and sound design. There has always been support and encouragement available, and no idea was ever too crazy when we’d all work towards the same goals. And the people here have become very important to me, and I feel so proud of all the people who’ve been able to pursue careers in theatre after being offered the base knowledge and skills here.
The community is the leading force within this theatre, and some projects I’ve been a part of highlight this:
To save our theatre in a financially difficult situation, I put together a team and we created an escape room themed around the lore of the theatre. With zero budget and a creative team with insane problem solving skills, we raised a sizeable amount to keep our dear theatre afloat amongst the hardships of the pandemic.
Another community lead project that’s become a yearly tradition now is the KATY 24h challenge, where we come together and create a stage piece based on a theme picked by the followers of the theatre within the next 24 hours. So we only find out the concept/theme once the clock has started running and by that time the next day we perform it to an audience. It’s been an incredible experience of collaboration, problem solving and community building.
A great production based on the community’s experience at TAYT was Kipinasta Tuhkaksi, a devised piece focusing on the experience of burnout in young creatives. The whole team had input and we created characters and a story to bring forward the struggles we’d all faced, and working together with such an important and personal topic to all of us was quite healing.
TAYT
WIMBLEDON
In this passionate and professional learning environment we’ve created some incredible works. It’s been irreplaceable to be around such inspired and creative young students, making connections and finding our niches and passions. The opportunities I’ve been presented and the people I’ve meet have been life changing, and I’m so grateful!
