Episode 28: Abi - Student to helper

Bromsgrove assistant Abi chats to Alice about her time with TTW and how she has progressed to now being a Group 1 helper at Bromsgrove. She gives advice to students who are looking to progress from students to helpers and what she has  learnt from working with younger students. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You've got to be quite forward and you've got to be willing to make a lot of connections. Cause obviously with the with the little ones, group ones, they're very much like you have to have a connection with them and they'll trust you very easily. And then they're just like your best friend.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Hello and welcome to Theatre Workshop Talks. My name is Alice and I'm a teacher here at the Theatre Workshop. We have a theatre school based in Birmingham, Barnt Green, Blackwell, and Bromsgrove. Here you will gain an insight to what it's like being a part of the theatre workshop. Along the way, we will be talking to TTW students, parents, teachers, and also some very special guests. Make sure you hit that subscribe button so you know when a brand new episode drops. Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode of our podcast. Today I'm joined with someone that you probably all know. She's been with Theatre Workshop for a very long time, and she's now progressed to be one of our teaching staff. So today I'm joined with Abby. Hi Abby. Hey! So how long have you been with Theatre Workshop? How did your journey with us start?

SPEAKER_01 1:14

So I joined when I was nine, and I joined into group one. So one of my friends from school was already in group one, so she had recommended it to me. And then I thought, yeah, I'm gonna give that a go. So I joined in group one when I was nine, and then I wasn't in group one for very long before I moved up to group two. And yeah, and now I've been here for how many years is that? Well, I'm 17 now, so many, many years.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Many, many years. Do you remember who your teachers were? I had because you were at the Bromsgrave school, weren't you?

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Was it Giuseppe for dance? I think. It might have been Lara for singing.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

I can't remember who the drama one was. Couldn't have been Rich, would it? Was it Nick?

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Oh yes. Yeah, because I remember I had Nick. Um and then sort of Rich took over from Nick, I think.

unknown 2:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

Afterwards. But yeah, I remember. I think that would be sort of the same time I was there? Were we there at the same time? I was at Birmingham, but were you at Bromsgrove at the same time that I was there?

SPEAKER_01 2:39

I think it must have been, but we never really crossed over Bromsgrove. Birmingham at that point.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Yeah. Maybe we did in a show, possibly.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Cause I did you do the Oscarette?

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Yes, I did.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

So I remember doing that.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

I had a memory come up on my phone of Oscarettes with the little gold trophies that we were given. Yes! I remember that. It was so cute. How lovely. So you've been with theatre workshop for a while. Now you help out with the creep ones at the Bromsgrove School, don't you?

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Yes. And alongside that, what are you sort of doing? What are you up to?

SPEAKER_01 3:22

So I've just finished my A levels. So I did a mix of B Tex and A levels, which I'm very glad I'm over now. Yes. So I so yeah, I've just finished those and I'm starting my gap year journey.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Oh yeah. Have you got any ideas what you're gonna do on your gap year?

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Well, I've been talking to Caroline and she said that I can have a few more bits around theatre workshop.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

That's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

I know, so I've picked, so I was covering for Caroline for some of her other singing lessons and Lambda lessons a couple of weeks ago. So I think I might be doing some of those starting September, which will be very exciting.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

And then I have got a uni offer. So I've got a uni offer for Glasgow and Carter.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Yeah, for international business. But I don't know, uni stuff might change a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Yeah. So are you set on a gap year? Definitely set.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Definitely set. Cool.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

And what did you say you were going to do at uni? International business. International business. What does that include? I've never heard of that course.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

It's basically the business and management course that quite a lot of people do. And then it's going into international markets and how it all happens internationally.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Oh, that's quite interesting.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Yeah. But it might change because I was looking at doing like child psychology courses as well. I love that. Which seems a bit full on, but I quite like the idea of it.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

That is so like that would also fit in really well with theatre workshop as well. Yeah. Because you could also pick up some I don't know how it would work, but just sort of working with the children, maybe. I don't know, could you link that in?

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Yeah, well, it would be all of the stuff of like the the different behaviours and different things like that, and I feel like it would just it would link us you would know a bit more about them.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Yeah, definitely. And especially if you've been helping out with our younger students, that would give you a bit more of an insight to that kind of thing as well, wouldn't it? Yeah, definitely. Interesting. Child psychology. So we've said you help out with the younger students, the group ones in Bromsgrove. Yeah. If someone was looking to progress to helping slash teaching with that age group, what advice would you give them? Or advice for someone who has been a student and then wants to sort of climb and become more in the teaching side of things?

SPEAKER_01 6:27

Yeah, well, I was actually quite lucky with how it came across for me because I had left TCW in the June-ish time, and then I was still carrying on my singing lessons with Caroline. So then she said she asked if I'd like to come and help out in about the October. So that happened for me quite in like a lucky way. But I think that letting people know that you're willing to take on more responsibility and take on like a newer level is definitely very important. And just attacking everything with quite a lot of confidence, you've got to be quite forwards and you've got to be willing to make a lot of connections. Because obviously, with the with the little ones, group ones, they're very much like you have to have a connection with them, and they'll trust you very easily, and then they're just like your best friend, confidence, and once you're into it, it's just the best thing ever.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

So you've got like 20 plus little best friends in group one?

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

So, what would you say you've learnt from helping the younger students? We had a little chat about this and a little giggle. What would you say you've learned from, you know, spending time with the younger ones and teaching them and helping them?

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Expect the unexpected from them. They will come out with gobbledygoop, or there will just be something that you're not expecting for your Friday night that will happen. But it's just like just taking it on and just kind of going with the flow because you actually do not know what's gonna happen. You don't know whether they're gonna be really calm, really tired from their school day, because obviously with Bromsgrove, they're pretty much they've coming straight out of school a long school week, and then they've got three hours after school, and they're either really tired or they're very energetic, and we love both, but you've just gotta be able to kind of like adapt to how they're feeling on the day.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

So, Abby, you also had a little solo part in our summer show, didn't you? Yes. So if you came to see the show, then you would have seen Abby. She played Fiona in our Shrek mini musical. How did you find that, Abby?

SPEAKER_01 9:09

I loved it. I love so I did I performed with little Holly, who's one of my group ones, and also Amelia, and it was just so lovely because we all got onto the stage at the end and sang a little bit of it together, and it was just great. It was a really, really nice thing to do.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

It was lovely as well to see how obviously you had a group one, a group two, and then you as sort of because if you don't know, the Shrek song is about how Fiona grows up. So it was literally how you grow up from being a group one, then to a group two, and then being a group three, which you've done, and then being one of the helpers, being one of Holly's helpers, which was so lovely. So cute. That's so cute. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you, Abby, for being on the podcast today. It's been lovely talking to you. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Thank you for listening to TTW Talks. We hope you enjoyed listening to this episode and look forward to hearing the next one. Make sure to follow us on Instagram at the Theatre Workshop Birmingham and TikTok at the.theatre.worksband to see all of our class and show content and all of the exciting things we get up to. Once again, thank you for listening. This has been TTW Talks.