I'm back! After a year of personal development, self-love and growth, I've returned to the Teenage Cancer Trust FYSOT event as a performer with, Toby Peach Looking Forward company. 😁🎉 Who would have thought?
Looking Forward ✨
Looking Forward is a new drama company (that I'm a part of woo for me) run by the amazingly talented, Toby Peach. You may recognise Toby from my blog post I wrote about his performance at last year’s FYSOT (here). It is a dream come true being involved in this company because we not only do we get to share our own cancer stories to help inspire people within the community, but we are also able to do it in a fun and relatable way by using drama to engage a lot of people.
I am going to write a blog post documenting my first few months with the Looking Forward company (once I stop putting it off 😂), so I won’t disclose too much information – but I will say this, it was one of the most amazing and rewarding things I’ve been a part of doing in my life!
FYSOT – The event of a lifetime! 🌟🌟
“An incredible, inspirational, interactive residential weekend away that might just change your life. Featuring fascinating workshops, brand new best friends and a legendary showcase with a brilliant bunch of people who know what it’s like to have cancer”
You might already know a bit about FYSOT from the blog post I did last year (here), but this time I attended as a performer/speaker and even though it is a weird thing to think about 😂, I'm so blessed and grateful that I was given the opportunity to perform because I would have never had the confidence to do it last year.
It was exciting not attending the event as a participant because I was able to have the first-hand experience of being backstage, doing interviews and being separate from the event as a whole. I loved knowing that my regional hospital where I had treatment were in the audience because it gave me that added boost to put on a great show! (and not embarrass Birmingham in the process 😂)
The Performance 😲🎭
Most actors before they go on stage always get that nervous butterfly feeling before they perform- but I've discovered that for this performance, I didn't get scared at all. By the way, this isn't me boasting that I'm those type of people who never get stage fright and acting is a walk in the park (far from it 😂). I just believe that due to doing loads of terrifying things that have been outside of my comfort zone this year, acting on a stage in front of a charity that I have grown close with speaking about an important issue like life after cancer, it resulted in me being less scared and more enjoying the experience!
Also, by Toby and Grace involvement in creating the play as a fun but serious take on our cancer stories, it made it a lot more exciting to do each time!😁
Us in action🎥:
I really enjoyed myself throughout this performance, and you can see it on my face 😂. I loved how united we all were and supportive of one another. It was an amazing example of what a drama company should represent. ❤
Return to Acting 🎭🎤
It has been three years since I've acted on stage doing a full-length drama piece, and I honestly can't believe I made it to this point. I thought that my dreams of becoming an actress were over when I woke up from my operation, unrecognisable and depressed - but (as I keep saying time and time again) I continue to surprise what I'm capable of and I’ve proven that nothing is impossible once a person is stubborn (tick) , determined (double tick) and silence that constant negative voice in their head (triple tick).
I was in my element on that stage and (without getting too emotional) I finally felt like I returned home. I knew from that point on that I could never give this up, and from now on I'm going to try to campaign for people with a visible difference or disability to be given opportunities to act in TV, film or on stage because it is the best feeling that words can never describe!
Look who I bumped into 🤗💖
This year, I was lucky enough to bump into two very important people that I met at last year Clic Sargent music residential, and it was a very pleasant surprise! 😁. I was very closed off and distant during the Clic Sargent tour and residential, that I will forever be regretful now because I missed out on a lot of opportunities to fully connect with people, but for them to see my performance and see how much I've grown from that shy person a year ago, it was an amazing thing to think about.
I honestly believe that if I had known they were going to be in the audience, it would have made me feel a lot more nervous (and less of that cool and collected girl I claimed to be earlier😏) than ever before. So, thank god because I would have been freaking out! 😂
Flashback - 2018 🏃🏾♀️
Jokes aside Tom and Rebecka on different parts of my Clic Sargent journey (when trying to get me out of my shell to speak to them was like pulling teeth 😂😂), were continuously kind and sweet to me throughout<3 so for that, if I could have chosen anybody to bump into from my past....I'm happy it was them 🤗💖.
OVERALL 🌟🌟
What an amazing, fantastic, life-changing, exhilarating, no other adjectives can't describe the experience was! I truly enjoyed every moment on that stage, and I can't wait for you to read my blog post on my journey with the Looking Forward company to get to this point 😁.
I can't wait to see what next year FYSOT has in store for me in 2020 😁. Will, I FINALLY do a speech? volunteer? lead a workshop? who knows 😂. All I know is that a year can do a lot for a person and I can't wait to find out what other transformation I'll have in the new year 💖💖.
Thank You for reading and I hope you have a nice day 🌞
Please if you can donate to the amazing charity Teenage Cancer Trust so they can continue giving opportunities and supporting people like me, Thank You. <3
Crystal x
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