My Time with Starling Arts

We hear from our latest student placement, Abbie, who reflects on reimagining how community and magic can be found in music!

As a child obsessed with the arts, I had my fair share of participating in many performing arts extracurricular activities, choirs included. I’ve seen all types of choirs; church choirs, musical theatre choir, and after-school choirs. Once I had to start focusing on my studies, choirs became a thing of the past, but I always kept my love of singing close to my heart. I never thought about the many communities I had been a part of and as a child you don’t realise the impact that community can have. For me, music was predominately a solo adventure. Sure, one of my passions was musical theatre, but I kept my love of music to myself. I had forgotten what it felt like to sing within a group. It was only after my placement with Starling Arts (through my studies with the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama) that I realised the importance of community built within choirs.

My First Steps

It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t apprehensive at first. My previous experiences with placements have always been with a group, so going into an organisation alone was definitely scary. However, when I reached out to Starling Arts, I was welcomed with open arms and it eased my anxieties. They made it very clear that I had endless opportunities to let me explore my own practice, and that I was welcomed. I was grateful to not be thrown in the deep end straight away. I was able to just observe and find my feet within the group for my first weeks. I could immediately feel sparks fly, seeing the energy in the room was exhilarating and new. It was refreshing to see a new type of adult choir community, that was playful, yet creating music that genuinely sent shivers down my spine the first time I heard it.

It was maybe after a week I started sinking my teeth into Starling Arts’ work. I had been asked to plan warm-ups and energisers, and support them in writing summaries for each rehearsal I participated in. I also had an opportunity to explore what it’s like to run a non-profit organisation, researching funding and other applied musical theatre companies. All this with comprehensive tutorials about web design and funding applications. I felt like I hit the jackpot; there was so much I had learnt and information that I had not thought about before. Needless to say I was, and still am, very invested in seeing how my future could function.

Abbie leading exercises with starling voices north

It felt like after a few short weeks, those fears of being alone on a placement had all washed away, and I started to see how there were so many ways community singing could be used for better wellbeing. Whether it’s singing with a joint community or singing for health, I watched as participants would walk into the room with the stress of the world on their shoulders, only for it to be gone as they left with friends. Being at Starling Arts helped me realise that the release of stress is what I want to implement when I start my true work as a facilitator.

Tackling Bullying through Wicked the Musical

However, there was a project during my time at Starling Arts that really meant the world to me. I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in their Official Wicked Workshops, one of which is an Anti-Bullying workshop in collaboration with the Anti-Bullying Alliance. I was able to participate in Starling Arts’ training, which involved many awesome facilitators, and I was able to talk and learn from their knowledge. I was also able to help Starling Arts teach students about a topic that I am very passionate about. Being able to interact with students firsthand about such a delicate topic, whilst using a musical I really love as a tool, meant the world to me.

Abbie running a team energiser with our wicked facilitators

As a student, you often theorise that your work could create an impact, but seeing it in person has given me a wider insight into my own future in applied theatre practices. It was an experience that I will hold close to my heart for many years to come.

Knowing What I Know Now

Though what I have spoken about was just a little snippet of my work, I cannot express enough how Starling Arts has shifted my view on community choirs. As a kid, to me a choir was just for singing, nothing more. Now as an adult, I see the importance of meaningful interactions between peers, breaking that stigma of isolation within adulthood, and forming not just a community, but a family. In a time when people feel most isolated, especially during the Christmas period, having the choir as a release is more valuable than ever. Though my placement itself was a solo venture, I never felt alone as I had the guidance and wisdom of both Anna and Emily helping me along the way, and I am forever grateful for that. I have grown confident in my skills here, all thanks to both the Starling Voices North and South, the Singing for Better Breathing group, and my two amazing hosts who had made me feel welcome every step of this journey.

Knowing what I know now, I aim to be able to bring this energy to wherever my path takes me next, and I hope that I will bring a little bit of that Starling Arts magic along with me.

Abbie