A Sound Symphony rose given to the cast and crew after the last performance on 24th June, a reminder of the scented rose petals featured throughout the show. The final performances were emotional, and I was reminded why I do this work and why it is so important to make theatre with amazing young autistic people. We have been working towards this tour since mid-April and mixed up in all of this has been adjusting to working in person again following 2 years working online and from home and on the sofa. It has been a bigger adjustment than I had realised but I’ve come through it stronger and even more quietly determined than ever. The Sound Symphony team are a rare collection of kindred souls brought together to create a show quite unspeakably beautiful at times, moving and also riotously funny. A very happy combination as it turns out……
There is also the joy of being back home after many months of hotel rooms and changing scenery. It’s nice to stay put for a while after being on the move but it has done me the world of good to actually have gotten off that sofa and back out into the work again after 2 years. I wonder how others have managed this transition. Is it still a relatively recent thing as for me who only ventured out again in March 2022? Or is the pandemic and their journey through it becoming a fast forgotten memory? I do feel changed by my own journey through 2020 and 2021. I lost a lot of confidence and have had to build that up again slowly. There remains a slight feeling of caution for me, but I’ve also learned new things and new ways of working. July is a slower month for me with some actual time off. I continue to appreciate the very small things in life with particular relish and am enjoying the summer colours when out for a wheel and a woof with Pixie hound of wonders and sniffer extraordinaire!
