Hello my lovelies, I hope you're all well. I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while. Everything has been so busy since I turned 18 because after that we had a month until our final show and the end of our college year and everything has just been really hectic and up in the air. But now it's all over and I can finally sit down to tell you what has been going on.
So, turning 18! Well, not much has changed apart from I can drink legally now and go out to the pubs and clubs! I've been out twice since turning 18 and both have been nights out for other peoples birthday plans. But for my birthday a few of my closet friends and I went to a spa for the day and had massages, facials, and Indian head massages during the day along with spending all day in the pool, jacuzzi, and steam room. Then later on as we went out for a meal we had our makeup done. I had a really lovely day with girls and it was just a nice way to spend my 18th because you don't get to go to a spa every day and none of us had ever been before so we were really excited to experience it all together.
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| Heather, Ki, Myself, Chloe, and Ellie at Frankie and Benny's |
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| A photo of me and the crew on my actual birthday: myself, Jess, Izzie, Lauren, Heather, Harry, Amie, and Taylor. |
Overall I had a really good birthday with some of my best friends and it was just a lovely way to celebrate my 18th.
What is going out really like?
I know so many young people who are always going out and getting drunk at parties and house parties etc as when you're 17 and under you cannot go out to the clubs and pubs as you don't have valid ID. Well, I've been out twice now around town with my friends and it's not as bad as people always make it out to be. Obviously parents always worry and both of the times I've been out we've been safe and it's been really enjoyable. Also, you don't have to drink loads and loads to go out to the clubs and have a good time as really it's about dancing the night away to be honest. The club is open till 3:00am and both times I've stayed right till the end just dancing the night away.
My favourite drinks are cocktails and Malibu and Coke. They are the main two things I drink just because I prefer to drink things that taste nice and that I actually like and not just drink for the sake of drinking like some people do.
However, after you've been out a few times it's not all it's cracked up to be as you do the same thing on a loop. Pre drinks at a friends house, go out to the pubs and have drinks there, and then go to the club till early hours of the morning. After a while it becomes a bit repetitive but I suppose it's something you have to experience at some point when you turn 18.
The Final Show
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| A photo of my amazing year and I before our final show. (from left to right:) Alice Gilmore (Played by Amie), Nurse Beck (Played by Heather), Dr. Beck (Played by Owen), Winnie Gilmore (Played by Jess), Aggie (Played by Jordi), Alex (Played by Connor), Victoria Smith (Played by Me), Nancy (Played by Izzie), Arthur (Played by Harry), David (Played by Josh), Miss McGee (Played by Taylor), Mabel (Played by Lauren), and Jayne (Played by Rozzy) |
Our final show was called 'Welcome To Cresswood Moor' and it was about a village who want to keep their ways the same. During Act 1 it was about getting to know each character and seeing how they are and then stranger Alex arrives into the village from having a car crash. He is a genuinely hurt and needs help from someone as he is a nice person who has done no wrong. However, as the story goes on it is seen that the village let him in and they welcome him but when you let the village down they "dispose" of you. Also, Alice Gilmore has just been assigned to be on the parish council as she is now old enough to be a member and she finally gets a taste of what it's like to be involved in the villages dirty work, i.e. getting rid of unwanted visitors. Then Act 2 begins where Victoria arrives into the village and everything happens the same, she enters the village from being in a car accident and everything during the week happens the same, doctor's check up, going to the tea room, a night in the pub etc. However Victoria is a stubborn little miss who knows what she wants and the parish council quickly realise she isn't going to be easy to "dispose" of. This catches onto Alice as she doesn't believe these people deserve this to happen to them and tries to warn Victoria and "save" her from these people. The end climax is that actually it was Alice who was the one getting "disposed" of because she didn't have to guts to do her job properly. She got emotionally attached to keeping Victoria safe and her job was to prove to the council that she can do this and she can't. The end of the show is Victoria and the rest of the village turning on her and her ending up being "disposed" of instead of Victoria. It is also found out that disposed in their terms means taking people and popping them in the pub cellar. We also discover that Aggie's husband Dennis and Alice's mother, who are referenced throughout the performance, are also down in the cellar because they too couldn't prove to the council that they could do what the council do.
Overall, I absolutely loved the final piece we produced. It was an original idea that developed so much from our original idea which was the idea of basing a show around The Woman in Black. I think everyone did their best acting work possible; we put blood, sweat, and tears into this show and we came out the other side with an incredible final piece and I would do it all again if I had the chance.
The End of College
The 2 incredible years I've had at college have now come to an end and I am so sad that it is now all over. I cannot believe how quickly these two years have flown by and I've loved every minute. Even though there has been times when we've all hated one another and argued and just didn't want to be around one another. We'd always still be there for each other when something was going on, we'd still have good times together, and we are genuinely closer than we've ever been before. Every single one of these amazingly talented people have changed me and made me the person I am today. All the issues we went through were worth it in the end because we came out the other side stronger.
Personally, if I'd have gone to sixth form I wouldn't have the incredible friends I have now and I wouldn't be the person I am now. I'm strong, I'm confident, and most importantly I am happy with who I am because of this performing arts course I've been doing for the past two years. It's tested me physically and emotionally and it has been worth every minute. I've improved myself as well as my acting skills. If you want to be any kind of performer you need to work on yourself first before you can move forward, especially if you've been through personal things that have affected your confidence, who you are, and what you want to be. I feel blessed to have shared these two important years of my life from a young girl to young adult (16-18) with everyone in the picture above. It's so sad that we are now parting ways (and let me tell you, after the show there was lots of crying) but I just know we will all be successful in what we set out to do.
My grades?
So at the start of the year we were all given a target based on our GCSE results and my target was DDM (distinction, distinction, merit) which when I first saw I was like "oh my god" however I wanted to do better than that. I can now proudly say at the end of the two years I have come out on top with DDD across the board! I am so happy because I've worked my butt off for these past two years and it's paid off massively because I am doing something I love to do.
What's Next For Me?
Well I've held this off for a long time because I didn't wanna tell you guys until I knew I'd be going. But I am going to University of Chester next year to get a degree in Drama and Theatre Studies and I'm so excited! I will miss college loads but I am extremely excited to do three more years of studying my favourite subject that I am so passionate about. The course is so wide range as you can pick areas to work in that you want to, e.g. you can either do a dissertation as your final project or take part in a final production. I feel this course will be super beneficial to me because I've always wanted to start in theatre based work before films or TV because theatre is what I've started in and love all areas.
I am also excited to join campus societies and clubs. The main two I want to join are obviously their Drama Society - they put on two productions every year and I'm excited to take part in them even though I've not joined the group yet. Another thing I really wanna do is get back into playing Netball. They have a Netball club on campus and the girls compete in tournaments etc. I feel like it'll be a good way for me to keep fit and get back into something I loved doing before quitting back in year 8. I'd also love to join their dance group but it just depends as some of the meeting times might clash with the other two I desperately want to join. But it'll also be a great way to make loads of new friends.
When I started college all I wanted to do was be a performer as that's what most people view as when you do drama. But there's a lot more to it that what people think. When I was given my grades I asked my lecturer if she thought I would be a good theatre actress and if she thought I had the qualities to be one and she said:
"Just wanting to be an actress will be hard for you as you're going into an industry of people who want exactly the same thing as you and it's hard to stand out from that. As I don't look at you and think you're going to be the next Broadway star..." (which I already knew) "... Katie, I feel you'd be best as a teacher of some sort because you're reliable and in your mind you work things out - you're not afraid to play around and explore with elements and characters and that is where your love of theatre comes from. I think it would be a shame to just want to be an actress when you have a special quality to offer to others in the same position as you. The reason you shouldn't just want to do just one element (performing) is because YOU GET IT - you understand how it works. You know act as much as you can and would like as to be a teacher and be a directive leader we have to act to understand how things work and they work. You've got something to offer"
What Sarah said really hit home as I know she is right and her opinion is always valid to me because she has taught me everything I know from this course. She knows me down to a T as I do wanna be a performer but also wanna create things, teach people things, direct things as I love both sides of everything within theatre and acting for film and TV etc. I will definitely take her advice on board and I'm sure whatever happens I will make her proud.
Well guys, that is everything for now in this post. I'm going to do another one soon however I'm not making any promises of what it is because I don't know what it is.
But thank you for reading this post if you did and I will speak to you soon.
Bye for now,
Katie
xoxoxoxo
