Crest of a 2nd wave? Not yet I fear. Are we drowning? Not yet I hope!
However it’s fair to say that staying afloat is proving a challenge for many people and businesses. I know that we, at FINDING THE WILL, are not alone in this. Just in our industry, there are millions of drama practitioners, artists, actors, stage managers, lighting designers, technicians, crew, dressers, wardrobe staff, front of house staff, catering depts all in the same stormy sea (although not necessarily in the same boat). This is a wave we have to ride because if we don’t, the likelihood is we will all sink without trace.
Good News!
So let’s be positive first and foremost. Happy news! Much loved children’s author, well known to children and adults throughout the land, Michael Rosen (who also happens to be one of our Patrons – lucky us!) is on the road to recovery from Covid19. Hooray! After a desperately scary time, although he remains a ‘long Covid’ patient, we are thrilled that he’s making progress and wish him and his wife and family good wishes for his continued recovery.
More Good News!
Now, with the long dark winter nights approaching, cold air outside and only the same few faces (and the dog if you’re lucky) to look at on a nightly basis – how on earth are we going to keep on top of this wave of fear and anxiety? Well, one way, is to relish the joy of live performance from the comfort of your own sofa. I’m happy to say that recently both Richard and I were once again able to provide that service. In collaboration with intoBodmin we live-streamed two more of our shows from the BARD HEADS collection from our homes in Cornwall and Wiltshire. If you would like to relax for 50 minutes, grab a cuppa and click on the following links (only available for another week):
We took the decision not to charge a ticket price for these Live-Streams but, instead, to leave it up to the audience members to donate at the end if they felt so inclined. We know it’s hard right now for many people (particularly in our own industry) to make ends meet and so we didn’t want to exclude people simply because of the ticket price. By asking merely for a donation we hoped that those who watched, enjoyed and could afford to donate, would do so but without the pressure of feeling that they had to. For the performing industry and all of us who work in it, It is easy right now to wallow in the sheer desperation of our plight. But here at FINDING THE WILL we’ve encountered such wonderful support and, yes, love from our virtual audiences that we want to say a HUGE THANK YOU! We are continuing to re-think how we present our shows online and so we will be back! We have two more Live-stream shows to bring you HAPPY AS LARRY and THE QUEEN’S SPEECH. I won’t give out any spoilers but, just to pique your interest, here are two clues as to what you might experience…….:
School Update
Such is the bizarre, upside down world we live in right now, the performing side of FINDING THE WILL has more going on than the Education side! Our work in Primary Schools, unsurprisingly, appears to be taking an enforced break. That said, we do have a Covid-Safe strategy in place and we are still open for business. Please do get in touch, talk to us, find out what we can offer and how we can help you kick start a Shakespeare Project in 2021. In the Spring term, with luck and a following wind, we will be back at the wonderful Anson Primary School for a week – yes, a whole week! – to work with Years 3&4 on MACBETH. I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure how this week is going to work yet but if any school can make it happen, Anson can! What they don’t know about digitalia (is that a word?) and what to do with it is nobody’s business!
So to everyone out there, hold on tight and let’s ride this second wave. As someone once said to me (possibly my partner…..) “something will turn up, it always does!” With this in mind, I shall wear my face covering with pride, keep smiling behind it, stay as positive as possible and, with luck, return to some sort of normality in 2021. It won’t be easy (I’m not brilliant on a surf board) but hang in there with me and, together, we’ll catch this wave – wheee!!!
