Woodland Productions Offers Young Actors an Opportunity
to Succeed
by Christine Toner

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a famous actor or movie star? Most young people see the only route to fame as attending drama classes and hoping to get scouted or maybe going on a reality TV show and being discovered. Sometimes you need to stop relying on luck and chance, and take matters into your own hands. That's just what aspiring actress Hannah Berry did when she was 13. Today Hannah and her brother Reuben run Woodland Productions, a successful amateur theatre company located in Welwyn Hatfield.

"Reuben and I had always been interested in theatre," Hannah explains. "Several years ago, when our grandparents came from America to visit, we decided to put on a show for them. We blacked out the windows in our front room, made a back drop out of chip wood, bought some lamps and used coloured bulbs as a substitute for theatre lighting and in two days transformed the room into a theatre to perform our two-man cabaret show." The show was a hit and soon all their friends and family wanted to see the performance.

The Birth of a Plan
It was then that the siblings came up with the idea to set up a production company. They said to themselves: "Why stick with just the two of us performing in our front room, when we could get some friends together and perform on a bigger scale?"

So Hannah and Reuben teamed up with their cousin and some school friends and put on a production of Hansel and Gretel, using a script that they had written themselves. "We took a gamble and hired the local village hall for the day of the performance," Hannah says. "Luckily, we managed to get the money back through ticket sales and broke even."

Hannah and Reuben's dance teachers had wanted to see the show, but couldn't make it. They asked the group to perform the show again on the other side of the county. The teachers spoke with a local theatre manager who agreed to let Woodland Productions use his studio theatre for free for one performance. "We managed to fill the seats and, as we had very few outgoing costs, we made a small profit on which to build," Hannah explains.

Daring Moves
Determination is one of the most important qualities of an entrepreneur and Hannah and Reuben have buckets of it. Not only did they set up their business from scratch, they had to do it all over again when the family moved to Hertfordshire just one year later.

"The real setting up happened when we moved to Hertfordshire," says Hannah. "We didn't have any friends, teachers or family to help us out, so we had to build up from nothing." At that time, Hannah was 14 and Reuben was just 11. "We started by posting flyers on all the doors in our estate. We also contacted the local newspaper and they ran an article about us."

The duo managed to recruit five local children and started holding rehearsals in a large shed in their back garden. Opening their doors to all young people aged five to 18 years old regardless of experience, the group soon grew to a cast of 20.

Overcoming Obstacles
One problem most entrepreneurs face when starting out is funds, and generally a lack of them. But Hannah explored all the options and discovered there was help available.

"We run Woodland Productions as a voluntary company and therefore we were able to apply for grants and awards from the local councils," Hannah says. "The money has enabled us to buy professional equipment, hire a hall for rehearsals, hire a theatre for our performances and pay for the essential public liability and equipment insurance."

Woodland Productions has been a finalist in the 2004 Daily Mail Enterprising Young Brit Awards and runner up in the 2006 High Sheriff of Hertfordshire Crime Beat Awards, something which Hannah calls "the icing on the cake." They produce around three shows a year and are often invited to perform at community events.

Reaching Out
But despite their achievements, Hannah and Reuben, now aged 19 and 16, are nowhere near ready to rest on their laurels. As Hannah explains, "The company is always evolving. Our children have grown into adults and we now have a very strong adult group with some very talented people who have worked with us for a long time."

Hannah and Reuben offer a wide range of workshops for schools, colleges, nurseries and churches. They also teach weekly drama classes in Welwyn Hatfield. "We try to make links with schools and use school children in our productions to give them a taste of what theatre is like," says Hannah. The aim of Woodland Productions is to give everyone the opportunity to get involved in theatre.

Advice for Young Entrepreneurs
When Hannah and Reuben speak in schools, they strongly encourage other young people to set up their own enterprises. These are some of their tips for success:

• Keep in mind your aims and visions because you need something to hold on to when things get tough.
• Talk to anyone and everyone about what you do. Networking is extremely important.
• Look into free ways of getting your name around. Local papers, radio stations, council websites and websites like YoungBiz are all good places to start.
• If you run a voluntary group, look for grants and awards you can apply for. We couldn't have survived without these sources of funding.

For young people who would like to join Woodland Productions, more information is available at www.woodlandproductions.co.uk. They are always looking for additional actors, singers, dancers, musicians, backstage crew and people to help with marketing, publicity and ticket sales.