Humans of Shakespeare North Playhouse- Maisy

Wed 7 Jun, 2023

Inspired by the original Humans of New York, Humans of Shakespeare North Playhouse aims to document as many of the wonderful people who walk through our building each day. Giving a glimpse into who they are and the story they have to share. Meet Paula, one of our wonderful volunteers who has been helping out the marketing team for the past few months #HumansOfShakespeareNorthPlayhouse

‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers’. -Henry V, Act IV, Scene III

‘I started working here as a Visitor Experience Assistant in June, as I’ve taken a gap year between my second and third year of university. I study film and media, all that kind of stuff at uni. I wanted something to fill my time that was in the same realm as that, and there wasn’t a place more perfect than Shakespeare North. I only live ten minutes away, so it’s an easy commute!

I really enjoy having that sense of community when I’m working. I’ve always been the type of person who needs to have an emotional connection to feel passionate about things, so Prescot was perfect for that. Here I was able to do something for the community that I love whilst getting valuable experience at the same time, so it was the perfect mix!

Being able to get involved with a place that I was already so passionate about in the first place was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, and of course, getting to do things in a slightly professional and more corporate way is something that I haven’t quite experienced in university yet. Shakespeare North is a safe space for me. Doing this wouldn’t have been as enjoyable in a place that didn’t have such a strong sense of community.

I’m a writer first and foremost, so script writing is what I’m particularly interested in, but I’m one of those people who is just quite creative. On top of writing, I also play the guitar and the piano. I’ve played piano since I was like 10. When I went to uni, the country was in lockdown, so I needed a hobby to fill my time with whilst I was stuck in halls, so I bought an acoustic guitar and I’ve been playing that since.

All my favorite pieces of media are about things that represent people in a certain way. I really enjoy people, maybe that’s why working with Shakespeare North works so well for me: because we’re so involved in making sure that the space represents the people. I guess that’s why theater means so much to me: it’s nice to have something that has an immediate emotional response.’