 Sunny Girl Access Blog - Week 1 by Maisy Whipp Image descriptions at bottom of page. Welcome to the Sunny Girl rehearsal room. We’re in a spacious, large windowed, upstairs room that can only be accessed by an inconspicuous door down a back street. Thankfully, our Access Consultant Ash arrived before us to send pictures to help us find our way. Outside the window you can just about hear Manchester’s bustling Northern Quarter and the on and off rain of our lovely British summer. Though it's too grey to believe it's July, the room is bright and ready to go. It’s day one of rehearsals and we’re all nervous- excited to get going. In the room there is: Me- Maisy Whipp (She/her)- pronounced m ai- z ee -blogger and access support worker. Fuelled by iced coffee and Diet Coke. I’ll be chatting to you through this blog and throughout the rehearsal process. Also, there is… Beth Westbrook (She/her)- pronounced b eh th -Writer and Performer Imogen Dowding (She/Her)- pronounced ih m oh j eh n -Director Hannah Ellis Ryan (She/Her)- pronounced h ah n ah -Producer Ash Cox (They/She)- pronounced ae sh -Access Consultant Tilly Philipson (She/Her)- pronounced t ih l ee -Stage Manager There are other members of the company whom we’ll add and talk about along the way.  First things first, everyone got comfortable round a big table. Brews in hand, fidget toys at the ready and print outs of our access guide and script open.
We introduced ourselves- preferred name, pronouns and production role. Then it was over to Ash to take us through the Access Guide. Already, I would like to note here how comfortable I was entering this space thanks to the preface we had been given. Ash began with an access pledge and forenote from themselves. I think it is important to include here, that it would be unfair and exploitative for me to include large excerpts of the guide. However, I will paraphrase and mention in part what the guide refers to and situations in which we have used it throughout this process so that other creatives can do the same. It is also currently curated from Ash’s lived experiences and as we know everyone’s needs are individual. So I will preface this entirely with a quote from their foreword. ‘This is a working document that we can develop throughout the process’. There isn’t a fixed guideline to work from and we’re all learning and exploring what access is and this is an invitation to do just that. This leads me to the title of this week's blog. ‘This way of working should not be radical, but it is.’ For me (and the majority of this industry) this is the first time the idea of my role has been suggested to me professionally, its existence to me was radical. Within a day however, it was apparent just how necessary it is in working environments. The comfort created in the rehearsal room purely because we were able to be open and honest about our needs was in some ways unnerving. New. This was probably the most comfortable I have ever been in a working environment, and still I left anxious and overwhelmed. Why is this? I think it’s because I couldn’t believe how ‘unmasked’ I had been allowed to be. As someone who isn’t formally diagnosed and is currently finding new ways to understand themselves and how my brain works, to be allowed into this environment surrounded by creatives all at some explorative stage of their access journey, it really became clear just how radical what we are doing is. Then to walk outside back into the hustle of the big city, surrounded by crowds and noises and smells galore, the mask went back on, the earphones went in and the scrolling for dopamine commenced for my bus ride home. The world isn’t accessible. But this room and what we achieved just in our first rehearsal showed me just how easy it can be to adapt. The aforementioned overwhelm eased through the week. As rehearsals progressed so did everyone’s working relationships. Access clashes continued, which we know they always will. What aids some people, will hinder others. But, our aim is to remove as many barriers as possible and to quote Ash again (I’m sure this won’t be the last time, they are the Access Guru after all) ‘Disability justice and access is an evolving process, things shift and change.’ So no matter what we do, the answer will never be linear. And to adapt an age old saying ‘Accessible practice makes almost perfect.’ We have clear goals as a company to ensure this process is as accessible as possible to its audience, its company and its performer. These have been outlined in our Access guide and this information is on hand to any of the Sunny Girl team to remind and reassure themselves of. As an industry, we have a lot of unspoken etiquette that needs to be expelled. This includes unhealthy practices like working through lunch breaks, being available 24/7, over working and working for free. This leads us, especially as people with additional needs, to put our health and wellbeing to the back of our mind. This was something brought to my attention when my job was put to me. For the first time in my creative career I, as an adult, was encouraged to bring up toilet breaks, brain breaks, food breaks and asked to generally check in on those around me to see if they needed any of the above. It is so often frowned upon, to make ourselves the priority. Something I have quickly learnt this week, when inputted into a work environment, can still achieve great (if not better) results. This week's blog only skims the surface of what I believe is going to be an extraordinary process and I look forward to sharing all the ways in which we achieve a wonderfully accessible and highly entertaining show. Image Description 1 - Header Image. The Sunny Girl team pouring around a table of post-it notes. The notes are yellow, orange, pink and green. There are plenty of pens and mugs and water bottles on the table. Everyone is standing. Image Description 2 - Part-way down page The Sunny Girl team taking a selfie, left to right is: Maisy, Ash, Hannah, Tilly, Imogen and Beth. They are sat around the same black table, but this time all the post-it notes are on the wall behind them.
1 Comment
|
Archives
July 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed
