Conference Musical Theatre

Conference Musical Theatre

Rachael Dewhurst
6th May 2010

When the conference committee put forward the idea to share something you’re really interested in at the conference I was unsure about what that meant.

I thought long and hard about what makes me get up in the morning and feel passionate about my day. I had several things that I could list off, but Musical Theatre was something that’s a little bit different and has an amazing effect on people. I then proposed to the committee that I could present a workshop on musical theatre. People thought I was crazy and had no idea how I would be able to pull this together, but it worked.

On the day I put it forward to people to make a five minute musical in ten minutes. People immediately started working together to create something. It was like all the nerves, anxiety and embarrassment disappeared. Everyone only had a short space of time, so they had to work together as a team and just do it. Both groups then performed to one another and were amazed at what they had come up with in such a short space of time. After the workshop had finished people shared their ideas of what had happened and how it felt. There was a variation of emotions but generally everyone was impressed with themselves and how they’d managed to create their own Musical Theatre Production. The aim of the workshop was for everyone to walk away with a sense of achievement. This was definitely accomplished. Also, people couldn’t believe the friends they made and the team bonding that had happened in such a subtle way.

For me, I was happy that I was given the opportunity to share something I believe is positive and community focused. It’s enlightening to find what getting out of your comfort zone can allow you to do and I was happy to see every person in the workshop discover that.