DARE and BELIEVE
DARE and BELIEVE… what do these words mean to you?
What do we think when we first read the word Dare?
Does it take you back to childhood when you were “dared” to do something silly like being naughty at school? Does it mean asking someone you fancy as a teenager to go out with you because one of your friends dared you to? Is it drinking or eating to excess on something with a group of friends that have “egged” you on to eat/drink it?Or is it just being BRAVE to do something that you have never done before?
Early next month I am doing something that I have never ever done before. I am taking my clothes off on stage at the Devonport Playhouse, Plymouth. Now before you all fall off your chairs laughing or start feeling uncomfortable, I must tell you that I will not be alone as a group of ‘middle-aged’ ladies are performing in the musical “Calendar Girls” with Plymouth Theatre Company. The great musical is based on the real-life story of a group of Ladies from the Women’s Institute in Rylstone, North Yorkshire, who decided to make an alternative calendar to raise funds for a new sofa for the family room at the local hospital. This was needed as one of their husbands had been diagnosed with leukaemia and the original sofa was extremely uncomfortable. You may remember the film that starred Helen Mirren and Julie Walters as Chris and Annie made in 2003. The play written by Tim Firth was then made into a musical by Gary Barlow of Take That and it is now a show that will have you laughing and crying as we follow the story of 6 ladies in the run-up to making this nude calendar.
So, why am I telling you this, apart from trying to unashamedly plug the show and drum up some more ticket sales? Well, it goes back to the words Dare and Believe. Being a mid 50’s menopausal lady, who is extremely busy working full time, studying for a masters, having 2 adult children living at home whilst studying at Uni, and having an extension built did I really think that I would have time to be part of this show? Well, I was dared to do it, not quite sure by who, possibly even by myself without realising but I felt compelled to do this.
Back in May, we auditioned, and I got the part of Jessie in Calendar Girls, along with a group of amazingly talented ladies and gents. Everything was going well, until we came to THAT day. The day we had to take our clothes off for the first time. Oh my goodness I felt sick, hyperventilating, panicky, and wished I could rewind the clock to the auditions and to have read the cast to find I was one that could keep their clothes on!
However, it wasn’t a dream and so the clothes came off and we smiled whilst holding strategically placed props in front of the vital bits that you would really not want to see. Voila, this week on a social media platform, there was I, naked apart from a poster hiding the middle bits.
Why am I really telling you this, I think it is because I was dared to do this but to get over the fear, I had to believe I could do it. And I did, and will I still get nervous, of course, but it shows us that if we believe in anything, everything is possible.
Calendar Girls is also a story about tragedy, of a life cut short by the horrid disease that is cancer. None of us are immune to this and unfortunately even in our small circle of friends from the theatre company, we have lost a number of people to this cruel disease including my best friend 4 years ago and my friend’s son Oliver Brown who died after a courageous and brave fight against cancer when he was only 11 years old.
Oliver Brown and his Mum Nicola.
I would like to mention 2 young individuals and their parents and their fight against this horrid disease that is happening as I type this.
Firstly, Katie-Marie Martin who is a 24-year-old dancer in our theatre company and whose dad Andy is our talented set and lighting designer. Katie earlier this year was diagnosed with a large Sacral Chordoma, which is an extremely rare form of cancer affecting on average 1 in a million people worldwide. Katie has just finished Proton Beam therapy at a London Hospital which will try and stop the tumour from growing further and possibly reduce its size to enable her to go back to her performing and working life for a few more years before she has to have surgery.
Katie, outside University College Hospital London whilst having her daily Proton Beam therapy in July and August 2022.
Katie has been supported by many healthcare professionals and charities, including Young Lives Vs Cancer, who help children, young people and their families face whatever cancer throws at them. Katie also has her own YouTube journey “Chordoma Katie” where she regularly updates her followers with her journey. Such a brave young lady believing that throughout her journey, she can help others by documenting that journey.
Another young man is Woody and he is 8 years old, the son of Laurie Beth who was our amazing photographer for the Calendar Girl shoot. Woody was diagnosed in 2021 with neutropenia and after further diagnosis he was diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic condition called Deficiency of Adenosine Deaminase 2 or DADA2 for short.
Later this month, his Mum, Dad and 2 brothers are moving their base from Plymouth to London, so that Woody can undertake a bone marrow transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Woody has been matched with 2 potential bone marrow donors and I would dare each and every one of you to register with the British Bone Marrow Registry or Anthony Nolan charity if you are fit and healthy and within the parameters of being able to donate stem cells or bone marrow. The strength that Woody’s family have is incredible as they put all their faith and belief into the medical team that will be looking after Woody during the foreseeable future.
Woody whilst at GOS Hospital earlier this year.
Our thoughts go out to these youngsters and their families as they continue their journey with this horrid “C” word.
So, when I think of the word Dare, I now see something that I may want to do but maybe do not have the courage to do it; being cajoled by friends and family into actually doing it and having the belief in myself that I can do it.
What could you Dare yourself to do or become? What are the things that are so close to your heart that you don’t dare yourself to do them because you don’t want to fail? Have belief in yourself. Believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable!
And what you may ask does this have to do with my work and my role at ADG? Nothing really, apart from where possible I will support and challenge the team and clients to think of goals and dreams that they may believe are beyond what is achievable. To break the big goals and dreams down into smaller bite-size tasks that can be achieved with the support of others.
Our production of Calendar Girls will rely on all of us supporting each other through the musical. Not one person within the production can do without the others around them, whether that is the fellow actors, the director, the musical director, the wardrobe and prop team, the stage manager and her backstage crew, the box office team, the front-of-house manager and her team of volunteers. None of us functions alone. We are a big team and we all know what the acronym for Team is; Together Everyone Achieves More.
As the lyrics from the song ‘Dare’ in Calendar Girls by Gary Barlow says:
“Just for once, don’t stop and stare, spread your wings and trust the air, when you feel you’ve gone too high, keep climbing If you dare”
Should you want to find out any further information regarding any of what has been mentioned in this post please do not hesitate to contact me. And should you wish to come and see this fantastic show please message me or go to www.plymouththeatrecompany.com