By Holly Clarkson

Creative Director, Big Mouth Theatre

Community theatre was where my passion for drama first took root, and looking back, it feels like the foundation of everything I went on to explore creatively. It wasn’t a professional beginning, but it was full of warmth, chaos, and a genuine sense of community that made it unforgettable.

It all started with a local amateur dramatics group that first came together to put on a pantomime in the church hall. The original aim was simple: raise money for the church while giving the village something entertaining to enjoy. The space itself was modest - stacked chairs, a makeshift stage supported by milk crates, painted scenery - but the energy behind it was anything but small. What began as a one-off fundraiser quickly became something more, as the show proved unexpectedly popular with local villagers and their families. That response gave the group momentum, and it soon grew into a continuing tradition of productions.

My own family was deeply involved from the very beginning. Rehearsals and production meetings were part of our weekly routine, and I spent much of my childhood around it all. I was only four at the time of the first pantomime, far too young to properly take part in the performances, but I was completely fascinated by everything happening around me. I would sit on the sidelines during rehearsals, absorbing the atmosphere and wanting desperately to be included.

Eventually, the director humoured my enthusiasm and gave me a tiny role as a panto villager. I had no lines to say, but that didn’t matter at all - for me, it felt huge. That small moment of inclusion was what made everything click - I wasn’t just watching theatre anymore, I was part of it!

From then on, I was completely hooked on the process. I loved being involved in every stage of production, not just the performances themselves. There were script read-throughs, where everything felt open and full of possibility; blocking rehearsals, where scenes slowly began to take shape; and the shared effort of working together to bring a story to life. Even learning lines became its own ritual. I used to record them onto cassette tapes and play them back repeatedly in my bedroom to help memorise them (a very dated method now, but one that worked at the time!)

Some of my strongest memories come from the backstage world. I can still picture the smell of emulsion paint and MDF as scenery was built and painted, often in the back garden as my dad helped the backstage crew. There was something special about that hands-on creativity - the sense that everything was being made collectively, by people who cared more about the experience.

What made those years in community theatre so meaningful was the atmosphere and the people. We were a small group, and we never took ourselves too seriously. Mistakes happened , things went wrong, and lines were sometimes forgotten, but it was always met with laughter and support rather than pressure or criticism. My family and I made so many friends over the years, and it felt safe, welcoming, and collaborative in a way that I later realised wasn’t always present in more competitive drama environments I experienced elsewhere. That sense of safety allowed me to build confidence naturally and develop a genuine love for performing, without fear of judgement or comparison.

Growing up within that group gave me more than just performance experience, it gave me a sense of belonging and a belief in the value of shared creativity. Everyone contributed, everyone mattered, and the goal was always the same: to bring something joyful to the community.

Although that particular group is sadly no longer running, those early experiences remain incredibly important to me. Community theatre didn’t just introduce me to drama; it shaped the way I understand it. It taught me that theatre is at its best when it is inclusive, collaborative, and rooted in enjoyment.

Those same values have naturally carried forward into my work with Big Mouth Theatre. The ethos of connection, building confidence, creativity, and celebration that I first experienced in that church hall still sits at the heart of what we do today. 

While Big Mouth has evolved and grown over the years, the spirit remains unchanged. Big Mouth is, in many ways, an extension of that early experience - an ongoing space where young people can come together, feel supported, take creative risks, and celebrate what they create as a collective.

To all the families who gave their time, energy, and encouragement back in the day, thank you for creating something so welcoming and full of heart. You gave me my first real sense of what it means to be part of a creative community, and without that, my love of theatre would not have grown in the way it did. The confidence, joy, and sense of belonging I found there have stayed with me ever since, and they continue to shape everything we create today within the Big Mouth community.