Arts Practitioner A-Z
Emma Rucastle - Arts Practitioner
Just over a year ago, Zac and I were planning to start the Silver Arts Award for TramShed and the week before the first lockdown, I came to Woodlands to talk to prospective participants. I haven’t been there since, of course; instead, my TramShed work has almost all been delivered via my laptop from home, with my trusty screen backdrop! Nevertheless, over the last year, I have come to feel a real part of the TramShed family and love seeing now-familiar faces on the screen every session and meeting. Here is an A-Z of my first full year as a TramShed Arts Practitioner.
A is for the Arts Practitioner Team: a brilliant team of which I am lucky to be a part.
B is for Break-Out Rooms, which allow TramShed Members to work in groups on a range of creative tasks.
C is for Creative Signing to a wide variety of songs.
D is for Devising – the beginning stage of every new play, where all ideas are welcomed and tried.
E is for Energy Ball and all the other warm-ups we enjoy each session.
F is for Feather Dusters – and all the other unexpected props that have appeared during online workshops!
G is for Guessing the Murderer; the Cluedo Workshops were some of my favourites in the first online programme.
H is for the Happiness TramShed brings to so many.
I is for Inclusivity: the lifeblood of TramShed.
J is for Joining Other Sheds; we had some great workshops with CottonShed in autumn/winter 2020.
K is for my Kitchen – which is where I sit for TramShed sessions as it’s where my internet connection is strongest!
L is for Laughter, one of the most regular sounds in any TramShed workshop.
M is for Meetings on Mondays: getting together as an APT to plan the sessions ahead.
N is for Names – changing them on Zoom to suit different workshop characters (and forgetting to change them back!).
O is for Outtakes – far too many to mention!
P is for the Piers: South, Central and North and the wide variety of workshops we share.
Q is for Quizzes. TramShed does the best online parties and quizzes are a great fun part!
R is for Rainbows, an integral part of the first online programme: Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
S is for Silver Arts Award, my first online Arts Award Delivery with a group of very hard-working young people.
T is for TramShed Over The Rainbow, TramShed’s first ever online performance, streamed live on October 3rd 2020 to a very appreciative audience.
U is for uniform – and wearing it with pride.
V is for Volunteers – such important people in every workshop.
W is for the Wider TramShed Family – trustees, TramShed Voice, parents, supporters, friends...
X is for eXciting* developments ahead with the Summer Show, podcasts and more. *Everyone always cheats with X.
Y is for a Year unlike any other.
Z is for Zac. And Zoom. TramShed couldn’t have kept going so strongly through the pandemic without either of them!
#apartofbeingapart
Emma Rucastle
Arts Practitioner