My Fabulous Experience At The Hackney Empire, Writers Room

Okay guys, so as you all know, a few months ago, I got to do the Writers Room course at the Hackney Empire. I’ve been wanting to talk about my experiences for quite a while now. The Hackney Empire Writers Room was so much fun, I met loads and loads of really cool people, loads of aspiring young playwrights, we all got on really well. I learned lots of really interesting stuff about theatre and play writing . I was so worried that I wouldn’t get in because days and days went by and we still had no emails coming in, I thought ” Yeah, I’m probably not gonna get to do it ”. Writing plays is what I want to do when I grow up, it’s my sheer passion, I love theatre, I get so much joy out of it, this would be a great start for me so if I don’t get in then it would be such a shame . But then, one day, I was at my nan’s house, I was just sitting down with my family and my dad goes ” The Hackney Empire got back to us and they said they’re gonna be doing it on Wednesday ”, I was literally over the moon, words could not explain how happy and chuffed I was to hear the good news .

So I was so excited about it. I literally went on my phone and I started watching loads of Theatre themed videos on You Tube, I have no idea why. I was like ” I’m gonna go to the Hackney Empire, I might as well self indulge myself in videos about theatre, writing, performing, that’s just the kind of person I am. Literally the moment I heard the news, I went on You tube and I watched David Tennant’s Hamlet and I was so mesmorised by it, that was the moment I realised that I was in love with theatre. One, because Hamlet is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays and two, because I’m obsessed with David Tennant, so that was a win win for me. David Tennant, Hamlet, what’s not to love, it’s fantastic.

Wednesday came and I arrived at the Hackney Empire for my first week. It felt so weird taking part in something like this because usually I don’t take part in a lot of social activities because I’m quite shy in person, I usually kind of avoid large gatherings and stuff like that, but this time, I promised myself and I also promised my mum and my dad that I would be confident and out going and be talkative and so I did. On my first day, I just remember shaking everyone’s hand, I was singing and dancing in the main entrance, I was an absolute nutcase . I let myself hatch out of my shell and I just kind of allowed myself to not be so self aware about everything. I’m quite a shy person, I worry about meeting new people, I hate having to take phone calls, even if it’s people that I know, I just hate it so I’m a really shy person, It’s really easy to just hide behind the shadows in a very crowded room. This time, it wasn’t like that at all, I just reinvented myself and I was really confident and I remember talking to everyone, it was such a strange feeling . I have days when I feel so confident and I could do things in front of people and in front of my friends and I would not feel embarrassed, it’s so weird, but that’s a wonderful feeling.

But yeah, I learned lots. The teachers taught us some really interesting stuff. Most of the tips they were giving us were really useful.

I got on really well with everyone. everyone was so nice, so easy going . I was pretty much the youngest one there. Most of them were like in their late teens and above . There was a girl who was one year older me, she was sixteen, but apart from that, I was the youngest in the room. That’s what I love about these kinds of things though, I feel like kids of all ages can learn about theatre and writing, there’s something for everyone . Most of us had a lot in common. I had a friend who I would talk to sometimes and she had the same music taste as me. She loves Fleetwood Mac and a lot of 80s music. When she said that I was like ” Yesssss, finally someone who has the same music taste as me. I would be friends with anyone, no matter what their music preferences are but if feels great to have something in common with someone .

When I first met her, we started talking about I’m A Celebrity, then it went on to Hamilton, then we were having a chat about Lin Manuel Miranda because we both love him and then we started talking about theatre and then we were talking about all the chaos with Andrew Lloyd Webber, the time when he shouted at the cast of Cinderella and sacked them when they were all in Spain, I had no idea how we got on to that, I think we were talking about what directors we’d like to work with and I said Lin Manuel Miranda because he’s so talented, not only that but he’s also such a lovely human being, I feel like he just radiates good, positive energy and I said that he could rap really well and then she said ” But do you think he can sing though ?” and then I started singing opera in front of everyone and they all looked at me ” What the hell is she doing ?”, really, you had to be there to see it, but we had a great first conversation .

 

 

Another thing that would often happen is we would have some really weird conversations in the room. We’d have a bunch of us talking about one thing and then there would be another group talking about another thing. Me and two of my other friends would be talking about cinema and music and then there would be another group talking about stand up comedy. There were also a bunch of us talking about Doctor Who.

 

I recently started watching Doctor Who, I’m watching the one where David Tennant is the doctor, he is my favourite doctor . I really love Doctor Who and I love David Tennant, I’m obsessed . So yeah so when I heard them talking about Doctor Who, I immediatly came alive and I was like ” Oh my god, I love Doctor Who ”, and then I just started talking about David Tennant, I was like ” Oh my god, I love David Tennant, he’s amazing ”. It was such a coincidence . I would love to meet him one day, that’s definetely something that’s on my bucket list, I’m just in awe of him, I love his work, he’s such a great actor and he seems really lovely too. Love him in Doctor Who, love him in Broadchurch, love him in Good Omens, love him in Inside Man, I’m such a big fan of him, if I could meet him one day, that would be my dream come true.

Another coincidence that happened was I was talking to one of my other friends.  We were talking about 80s movies and I briefly mentioned The Outsiders and then I found out that she also loved that film and it was so awesome. We were having a conversation about characters from TV shows and films who stole our hearts the first time we saw them on our screens and then having to kill them off. I cried for three days when I watched The Outsiders and so did she. Then, she mentioned The Breakfast Club and it was a coincidence because that same day, I was wearing a The Breakfast Club T shirt . It was such a weird day. We were talking about a whole bunch of stuff. We were talking about weird shows and films that kids used to watch in the 70s and we were talking about trauma, I have no idea how we got to that.

We got to come up with ideas for a play that we were going to write. This was really exciting for me because it was my time to shine and it was my turn to show them what I’m all about. I’m writing this play, it’s called ” A Rock To Remember, A Roll To Forget ” and it’s about this  rock and roll group. The playwrights were generally interested in my idea and they were so excited . I sent them my first draft and they really loved it. The only thing they said was that it was a bit too long, but other then that, they loved everything about it. They’re going to choose a few of us and we’re going to get to see our plays come to life with professional actors and I think It’s going to be awesome . I’m feeling really confident in myself .

I couldn’t go in on Wednesday because I had Covid so I couldn’t go, which was a shame because that was the last week of the course, I was curious to see what they were up to but I didn’t want to give it to anyone so I stayed at home, but I’m still happy that I took part in the rest of the course.

This has been the best experience of my life. I know that I haven’t experienced much of my life yet but this is definetely a great start . Doing this has opened up loads of opportunities for me and it’s given me so much hope for the future. I’m so excited to be a young playwright, it’s like my dream and I feel like I can really chase those dreams.

I will look forward to all the wonderful things life has to offer in the future. Whatever I go on to do, I will keep these wonderful memories with me wherever I go. All the amazing people I met, all my friends, all the conversations we’ve had, all the funny and hilarious moments we shared at our time at the Hackney Empire, I will treasure these moments forever . I will always have a special place in my heart for The Hackney Empire, it was time well spent .

Thank you for reading my post. I have so much more to talk about but I feel like if I keep talking, I will just be rambling on and on and this post’s going to be really long so I’m just going to keep it nice and short. Thank you guys for taking the time to read my post, I’m sorry if I’m boring you, I’m just really passionate in my experience. Have a nice day, wherever you are right now, love you.

More work to come on Big Blog Theory