Paul – Final Blog

Last weekend brought the end of the 24:7 festival to a close, I managed to find time to pop down and watch ‘Gary: A Love Story’, which was well worth the wait as it proved to be a finely written, produced and well acted piece of Theatre in the wonderful Martin Harris theatre space, being a space I know all too well. From what I witnessed the festival weekend was a huge success and I was really happy for everybody involved, right through from the organisers of the festival, to the actors, directors, everybody backstage and of course my fellow footies, as everybody worked so hard and their work really paid off, which is always great to see.

Of course with the festival ending, so too does my time with the ‘Foot in The Door’ scheme. I have really enjoyed being a part of the process, watching my fellow footies grow into their work, showing what they can do. Everybody who has come into this scheme has come out the other side a more developed professional, you can see the hunger and extra drive that the course gives you, that’s what makes this such a special scheme to be a part of, as you’re right in the action. I have made friends and important contacts through my time with 24:7, and I would recommend it to anybody looking for a career in the arts, as you learn so much, and the time that the people involved put in to help you is extraordinary, and you will be hard pushed to find a better place to get your foot in the door.

I’m now entering what is sure to be a busy period for Box of Tricks, they are now back from a well earned holiday and putting forward the preparations for their play Narvik, with the performance on in September. Before the break I helped Adam change the office around, as it was a bit chaotic due to half the set from their last show ‘Plastic Figurines’ still remaining there. It took the whole day, but in the end it was quite fun and rewarding, as the office space looked a lot more presentable, I was also allowed to throw in some suggestions of my own, and I got to see a few future plans that the theatre company had for the future, such as writing events and possibly letting other companies use a section of the office. I felt I also gave a good impression of myself, as cleaning an office isn’t everybody’s cup of tea as it doesn’t have a great deal to do with theatre, (although it does if you’ve worked on a show with a get out in the morning) but because I helped out it showed that my interests lie with helping the company, rather than looking out for myself, and I believe that is the right attitude to have when going on a theatre placement.

Now that we’re back in the office, I’ve gone back over the contact emails that I supplied Adam with for marketing, and I am now creating personalised invitation emails for each of the contacts inviting them to come and see Narvik. It’s a difficult task because it takes a lot of time, consideration and eye for detail, as you are making an invitation for a professional level, and requiring to also show that you’ve researched each contact and shown just as much interest in them, as you are hoping they show as much interest in you and your project in return, rather than just copying and pasting the same paragraph over and over again.

It’s a nice and relaxing atmosphere in the office, we’re either listening to music on the radio whilst we work, or the cricket will be on, I don’t really understand cricket, I’m more of a football person, but Adam seems to enjoy it, so each to their own…I’m going to stick to my football though. I’ve learnt a lot so far during my time here, seeing how Adam and Amy work, the amount of time they spend securing funding, planning out every stage, how much detail they put into every aspect. I’ve been really grateful for the time they have invested in helping me develope and making me feel a welcome part of their company and the process as a whole, and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the time I have with them. And finally I am very thankful to Foot In The Door for giving me the opportunity to work with the company, I will never forget this invaluable experience in what I hope will be a long and fruitful career in the arts.