Intern check in, by Ella Tuck, May 2014

Ella Tuck was brought up in Barnard Castle and moved to Darlington recently.  She is keen to be part of the rich future of arts and theatre in the town.

“I’ve always had a passion for the arts and creative industry, but felt that in order to volunteer and become directly involved I’d have to relocate to another area or wait until I start university. So discovering the Jabberwocky Market was both a welcomed opportunity and a relief from indefinite concern over future plans.

I signed up for volunteering and was soon contacted by Caroline, the producer, who arranged a meeting where we discussed the type of things I could get involved in. The Dales Festival of Arts in Leyburn was the first project I worked on as event support. This role consisted of helping the team ensure a smooth run of the festival, such as providing the public with schedule information, leaflet distribution, helping stall holders and assisting the artists. Tim Casson from The Dance WE Made was a treat to work with – seeing how an artist develops a piece and manifests it, while enabling them to achieve the end result, was incredibly interesting and exciting.

Shortly afterwards, I began my volunteering with Jabberwocky.  Caroline was a wonderful provider of guidance and the knowledge she shared from her work had a striking clarity, which instilled a real sense of understanding and confidence in my role, so that I was never unsure about how to take on any task or challenge. The team as a whole were fantastically supportive in all areas, and I learned many valuable aspects of creative development, event production, PR, the importance of promotion and marketing.

The first show I saw was Dear Mister Kaiser by Matthew&Stan. I loved the humour and the bright imagery of hot air balloons, a wandering letter, and the sentiments surrounding the notion of a ‘stiff upper lip’. It will be going to Edinburgh for this year’s Fringe Festival, so it was brilliant having the opportunity to see the rehearsed reading. My next favourite was Shame by John Berkavitch. As my core interests tend to lean towards spoken word performance I was enthralled by this piece. The performers executed a gripping atmosphere of anticipation, I was humbled and awed to have a quick chat with the artists, and also to be involved with the casket of talent and material which the Jabberwocky Market has brought to Darlington.”