Since things started to open up I’ve been applying for facilitating positions without luck, but luck strikes in different ways. I happen to follow a lot of applied theatre accounts on Twitter and I read, from Siobhán’s account, a call for volunteering to help on a show by BLINK, an applied theatre company that facilitates and works with and for neurodiverse people. I answered the call and the following day I was at the Albany, where I met an amazing and welcoming team of professionals working on DRIVE THROUGH, a sensorial experience where the audience was inside a minibus while a mysterious journey with magical creatures developed around it. I spent all the day with them, knowing them as a company and how they worked. I kept volunteering for them for a couple of the following week, this time at Elderberries, a day center in Essex. This time I got to perform with them… under heavy rain. It was chaotic, stressful, and fun. The kind of experience you gather valuable experience.
During those Summer days, I felt welcome, especially after lots of trying to reach out to different companys and not making it into a single interview. There is a lot of applied theatre facilitators in this city and it appears it’s not big enough for all of us. I feel bad for my Spanish colleagues and fellow applied theatre graduates since applied theatre it’s not quite big in Spain. Of course, I’m going to keep looking for opportunities but, for now, I feel thankful that Twitter allowed me to put my feet into BLINK’s door.
BLINK’s core is formed by Vicki, Rachel, Delson, and Francis. Four performers and facilitators with a huge amount of experience in the field of inclusion and diversity across the city, whether with workshops or acclaimed productions.
After the Summer I was invited to train with them to become a freelancer in their roster. Since then I’ve worked a few times with them as an artistic access support worker and also experienced my first dip into facilitation for kids with special needs after shadowing them. Vicki’s notes about my facilitation were priceless to improve my practice working in this field of applied theatre.
I’m looking forward to keeping learning from them.