Looking back on my internship at Unfolding Theatre
Unfolding Theatre Marketing and Theatre Production Intern Matthew Miers-Jones reflects on his time at the company.
Image credit - Von Fox Promotions
The photo above is of me reading all of the dreams stuck to the ‘Dream Time’ board by people attending the North East Culture Social at Alphabetti Theatre in June. Dreams reaching as far as ‘to make a show about compost’ scattered the board, with the idea that maybe there would be someone in the room who can help you achieve that dream.
Over the past few months, I’ve been in the room and working with some of those amazing people who are able to make things happen.
Most of my time has been spent at the Unfolding Theatre office at the quayside, where our Director of Partnerships & Audiences, Victoria Sanderson, has asked me to make Instagram reels, newsletters, website updates or blog posts. Before I started the internship, the idea of spending my day making reels sounded easy, and then I was introduced to Metricool, Mailchimp, Squarespace, GoodCRM, and Canva and realised that perhaps it wasn’t the case. Victoria has been incredibly patient with me as I’ve grown to be more fluent with all the software at use here in the office and has given me the freedom and creativity to make content, write copy and ultimately put some of my own steps in the social media footprint of the company.
When I wasn’t in the office, I was most often out in Newcastle at one of the youth theatre groups put on by Unfolding Theatre with either our Artistic Director, Annie Rigby, or Company Producer, Midge Ryall, along with any of the many facilitators and practitioners that work with Unfolding Theatre: EJ Raymond, Abilgail Lawson, Pau Fresnillo, Harrison Rowley to name but a few. Getting to be a part of Cowgate Young Theatre Makers, East End Story Makers and the North East Deaf Youth Theatre Summer camp and seeing the work that these practitioners do in the North East communities has been incredible. More than anything it made it clear to me, if it wasn’t already, that free arts projects for young people continue to be incredibly important as they provide safe spaces for young people as they develop new skills and let their energy be placed into creativity. Working with a company that removes the boundaries to the arts during challenging times, that perseveres in order to achieve what it promises to do, moves me to believe that a career in the arts can be in my future.
I also spent a few days building the brilliant Unfolding Theatre stage, at Caedmon Hall for Here Be Dragons and City Stadium Park for the Uncanny Festival, and at events such as the North East Culture Social. Everywhere I’ve gone, whether that be the office, shows, events or youth theatre programmes, there seems to be an obvious air that the Unfolding Theatre had been there. Everywhere I went, people seemed to be on a first name basis with Annie, Victoria and Midge and it became clear to me very early on that’s because the work that’s done here is worthwhile and keeps people at the heart of it. So, as for what this internship has taught me, aside from social media software and how to sign ‘pirate’ in BSL (hand over your eye), it’s that working and functioning as a company with kindness and people’s best interests at heart get you very far, because people will be happy to come back again and again.
Now that I’m finished, I’m excited to place my dream of being a freelance practitioner and writer on the ‘Dream Time’ board and can be confident that I’m closer than before my internship. I’m excited to be attending a BSL course with Unfolding Theatre so I can continue to work in these communities that I’ve grown to know over the past few weeks, and I hope to be back very soon to help in whatever way I can.