25 June 2009
In June, Mark Duncan, a 15 year old pupil from George Heriots School in Edinburgh, joined us in the office for a couple of days so see what it's really like to be part of a Theatre Company.
Work Placement Blog by Mark Duncan
When I requested a placement at Lung Ha’s Theatre Company, I admittedly knew very little about the organisation, other than the fact that it specialised in offering adults with learning disabilities a chance in the performing arts.
I arrived early on a Monday morning, where I was introduced to Michael Fraser (Company Manager) and Maria Oller (Artistic Director). Jenna Watt – the Administrator of the Company – would be absent for the entirety of my stay and I would be performing some of her duties while she was away.
The morning was mainly spent researching potential contacts and sponsors for the Company, as well as briefly reading through Lung Ha’s website and productions.
Between scanning the Internet and jotting down notes, I became better acquainted with Michael and Maria, and learned more about the workings of the Company itself.
After a lunch break, I went with Michael to the Edinburgh City Council building to observe a meeting with Judith Doherty of Grid Iron Theatre about co-producing a future production. Afterwards, I met with Maria and the dramaturg – the person responsible for taking individual scenarios and forming them into a cohesive script – at the Elephant Café. This gave me a brief glimpse into scriptwriting; having to read a script and imagine how it would be performed, who would perform it, et cetera, and edit it accordingly. After the meeting, I quickly rushed back to the Church Hill Theatre as – coincidentally enough – I had an unrelated musical theatre performance that night.
As such, my first day was mainly concerned with the administrative side of running a performing arts group. The next day, I arrived in the morning and continued my work from the previous day until the afternoon. Then I met with the Deputy Production Manager; Catherine Devereux and went up the road to the Church Hill Theatre. After delicately manoeuvring the props inside, we did a mark-up of the studio; indicating the presence of objects and the restrictions of the stage through the use of coloured tape. As we finished, the cast – consisting entirely of people with learning disabilities – slowly filtered in. Sitting next to a potential volunteer, I slowly grew familiar with the participants. The group was in no way uniform; it was a collection of people of various ages and personalities. After a brief introduction and singing warm-up, I watched the cast run through the rehearsal. The staff were always enthusiastic and lively, often making jokes and providing encouragement, and I could see a genuine relationship between them and the cast. The rehearsal lasted until around 9 o’clock at night, but time seemed to pass very quickly and it was with a sudden sadness that my placement at Lung Ha’s drew to a close. Everyone drew together in a circle, with Maria and the group personally thanking me for my work here.
It was with a pang of sadness that I departed the Company. In my brief time at Lung Ha’s, I had encountered many pleasant, interesting people who were dedicated to their work and its accomplishments. The staff are wonderful, caring people who were authentically passionate about their occupation and had a brilliant bond with the cast members. I can honestly say that I had a superb time working with Lung Ha’s, and actively encourage people to get involved – whether it is through volunteering or simply raising awareness.
Thanks Mark, from everyone at Lung Ha's.
