An Albury 11-year-old has successfully set the stage for a local drama class.
Ella Newport longed for a drama class in the area, so she created a business plan and successfully approached Creative Communities for funding.
Her advice to other children with a good idea was ‘‘if you have the idea, just stick with it’’.
Her mother Tabitha Newport said Ella completed the majority of the application process herself.
Ella had been home-schooled since she was 6.
She said when she would go to watch the school productions her friends were in, she had always thought she would like to be in one, but in the past year she had really been bitten by the theatre bug.
Mrs Newport had volunteered for the Fairlie Kid’s Club, Trunk or Treat and Team Tumble Cheer gymnastics.
She said Ella had seen all the ‘‘ups and downs’’ which had gone into that, namely the background work securing funding.
When she noticed her daughter was nervous about doing a presentation to the council she had told her if it did not work, ‘‘all it has cost you is a little bit of time and an idea’’.
Instead of wasting an idea, Ella secured $2756 and The Dream Weavers Youth Group began.
The money will be going to a number of things, including the cost of using the theatre for the term, along with time and travel costs for the tutor.
When there was no-one available locally to teach the children, Mrs Newport reached out further afield.
After searching through theatres in Timaru, she found a contact number for Kimble Henderson and rang her up.
After telling her she was ringing from Fairlie, ‘‘I said ‘hypothetically, if we could get funding, would you be happy to come and run something?’.’’
She said with Mrs Henderson being from outside the community, she had not known the children.
‘‘She’s feeling her way about, you know, seeing what the kids are capable of doing.’’
Mrs Newport was pleased it happened that way, as there were no preconceived ideas about their abilities.
She said the drama lessons allowed anyone to have a go, with children not needing to audition beforehand.
The group had 23 students enrolled, with five from Tekapo and one from Twizel.
The lessons were under way, and there will be a performance for the drama students’ family and friends at the end of the term.
She said they treated it ‘‘a bit like a home school project’’.
Ella did a business plan, researched the benefits of drama for children to add to it, looked at the age group and where to advertise the workshops, and worked with her mother to do a budget.
‘‘She was really hands-on in that process,’’ Mrs Newport said. ‘‘I think you need to let kids go for it.’’
