Happy Thoughts Drama Company and Co

Still stuck at Moorclose, we decided to take on the challenge of adapting a well-known ballet into a play. Characters were invented, a storyline was fleshed out and our cast even learnt to dance. The show was very popular and was the first Christmas show performed by the company. 

During a refurbishment at Theatre Royal, our group had to relocate to Moorclose Community Centre (the very theatre where I did my A-Levels!) We staged two shows here, the first of which was an adaptation of Hansel and Gretel which also incorporated Red Riding Hood and the Big-Bad-Wolf, and was the first Hallowe'en special show we staged. 

After the success of The Lost Boy, Second Star Youth Theatre was born as a little sister to Happy Thoughts Drama Company - a little sister that would soon grow into an enormous one. Our first show was to be Sleeping Beauty, and adaptation of the Charles Perrault fairytale, and was the birth of the complicated family tree that stemmed many of our other Second Star shows. 

Following the Peter Pan theme that has always been part of my companies, and as a trial-and-error performance to see whether a version of Happy Thoughts would be viable in Workington, a neighbouring town, I wrote an original play based on the life of J.M. Barrie. I drafted many of my actors from Cockermouth, as well as welcomed a few new ones, and Second Star Youth Theatre was born from the success of The Lost Boy. 

In 2016 we moved to a bigger and better venue for our biggest ever show. With a cast of 21 members, a full poop deck of a ship and live music, Treasure Island proved to be the most ambitious show we had ever attempted. However, due to finances and cast differences it meant it would be our last show for a while. It was a truly amazing send-off for such a magnificent company. 

After two successful productions it appeared time to branch out and make Happy Thoughts bigger and better. We found a new venue, this time in Braithwaite, just outside Keswick, and more ambitious shows. We introduced a 'forestage' (stage panels down the front of the main stage) in order to have a 3D, permanent Ville de Province as well as the castle up on the stage. We had a cast of 16, the most we had ever had, and many new members. We had a new set designer, new graphic designer and we had grown into ourselves as a company. 

When I was 17, I wanted to do something unusual for my sixth form project. My colleagues were doing things like art exhibitions and design projects, things that had been done before. I, on the other hand, wanted to do something big - something that would be remembered, and yet something that would appeal to a niche in the market. That niche in the market happened to be youth theatre shows locally that were performed from proper scripts and on proper stages, not abstract or unusual and random performances. So, I thought long and hard and decided to go with something that had always been dear to my heart - Peter Pan.  At just 17 I advertised for a young cast for what I thought would be a one off show to help me get my grades. An A* and two breathtaking performances later, Happy Thoughts Drama Company was born from the success of our first show : The Second Star to the Right. 

In October 2016, I decided to try my hand at as close to an original story as I could whilst still keeping the fairytale theme alive. I have always been fascinated by villains and so decided it might be a good plotline to think about what would have happened if the villains had won, and evil had prevailed. So, I set to creating. Alongside a friend, who created the character of Prince Aiden (and played him in the final show) I came up with 'Unhappily Ever After'. The play was popular and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  What would have happened if the fairytale villains had won? It is 5 years since the Evil Queen, Valborga, succeeded in placing Snow White under the sleeping curse. Much has changed in the lands of Perrault and Grimmenvald. The Prince has vanished, unable to rescue Snow White. Valborga has been terrorising the villages and neighbouring kingdoms, taking, with force, what she believes to be hers by right, alongside her sister, the Sea Witch, Dorea. All hope see...