by Maryanne Rattigan

About

My name is Maryanne and I’m on the BA (Hons) Applied and Contemporary Theatre course. I chose this course because I have a passion for community theatre and believe theatre should be accessible to everyone. I also love performing Children’s Theatre!

My Placement

In the third teaching block of the second year, we have a compulsory module that is dedicated to being on a professional placement. For my placement, I was certain I wanted to focus on children’s theatre. Previously, I’ve worked with Chickenshed, so I decided to get in touch with the Tales from the Shed team who are part of Chickenshed. They create vibrant, inclusive theatre shows that are perfect for young children. They are informal, lively, and wonderfully engaging!

My Role

As a Performer and Outreach Facilitator at Chickenshed, I’ve performed in many shows and inputted creative ideas! This placement has given me a lot of opportunities, such as performing in Wales; performing and facilitating at the British Summer Time Festival; and working with different community groups, including children, older adults, and adults with SEN needs.

My Learnings

Working with Tales from the Shed has Increased my knowledge of children’s theatre and improved my facilitation skills so my placement at Chickenshed has been very useful and enjoyable. So much so that I’m continuing to work with Chickenshed for a portion of my professional training year!

I believe that I will work in children’s theatre in the future as it is something I’m passionate about. In particular, I want to focus on inclusivity, ensuring everyone feels welcome within any production I work on. I would also like to take the skills I’ve developed on my placement and work abroad as well as create my own theatre company in the future.