Artist Helen Thomas: My time with Beyond Face

Helen Thomas is a mum of 4 of Sierra Leone/Irish descent who lives in Cornwall. A former teacher of literature, she has recently moved into writing poetry and plays. First attending our We are Here to Write group in September 2022, Helen has made the most of our Beyond Face Artist Development offers and was also commissioned by Beyond Face to write a play co-created with young people for With Flying Colours. She has had her work performed at our We are Here to Write scratch and performed at We are Here to Share Cornwall. Here she talks about her creative journey with us.

"I started writing poetry during lockdown and thought I’d like to put poetry into a theatrical setting. I wrote a script but didn’t know what to do with it because I didn’t know any other writers and certainly not any other playwrights. I sent the script to Downstage Write. They suggested I contact Beyond Face. Then I looked online, saw the website and thought how didn’t I know about them!

I’ve just absolutely loved my experience with Beyond Face. I’ve been really challenged first of all. I’ve been very much supported and felt part of a community of global majority writers in the South West. Which might sound quite a straightforward sentence but in my village I think my family are the only global majority residents. And in a 50 mile radius into Cornwall the percentage is probably only 0.05%. So to meet a group of people who share a common history but also a complete passion for writing and theatre and performance is just amazing.

Being [part of We are Here to Write] was brilliant because I was with people who were spread across the South West. It’s a very odd life to be writing on your own particularly for theatre. I’ve learnt that the theatre writing process is so different and the testing out of ideas and lines has to come much earlier. Feeling part of a writing community, checking in, [hearing each other’s] moment of joy and reading writing from such different angles and ages has been fantastic. It’s a lovely way to keep work ticking over, as there are deadlines and sessions to aim for. Being part of the group has given me a sense of stretching myself in terms of being daring and taking risks.

My other experience with Beyond Face has been as a writer of a play co-created with pupils in a secondary school in Plymouth which was commissioned by Beyond Face. It was a bit of a dream that I didn’t expect to happen ever so that’s been lovely. I worked with Shaday (Beyond Face Creative Thinker), going into the school each week to deliver workshops and generate material. There was a lot of focus on gelling the group as they didn't know each other and lots of roleplay to create characters. It wasn’t an easy experience but it was a wonderful experience. I hope it’s made them [the young people] think they can be playwrights too.

The professional support and the network that Beyond Face offers, regardless of what scheme or opportunity I’ve been on, has been faultless throughout. The level of communication, the willingness to communicate and the accessibility both online, in-person and via zoom has been amazing.

The content of my writing and the target audience has definitely shifted as has my desire to work collaboratively.

Being commissioned, it does shift it a bit because you feel like you have more of a role. There was a crossover as a lot of the strategies and techniques I had learned and used in the online sessions [We are Here to Write] I could then use in workshops in the school. Being employed and commissioned by Beyond Face has pushed me. It’s made me feel like I can say I’m a freelance playwright which I wouldn’t have been able to say 6 months before. It’s helped me to get a sense of direction and focus about my own creative practice. "

We've loved getting to know Helen and working with her and look forward to future collaborations!

You can find more information about our Artist Development offers here, and for latest dates please visit our What’s On page.