Artistic Director, Rachael Savage, tell the story of Sarah Hawkins' twenty year journey from Youth Theatre to Executive Producer.
I moved to Worcester on June 5th 2006. On the very next day, I ran a physical theatre workshop at a school in the town centre to a group of Theatre Study A level students. Sarah Hawkins was in that group, 17 years old and as eager as ever. The following month, I started Vamos Young People’s Theatre (funded back then by Worcestershire Education and the brilliant Penny Perrett). Penny and I auditioned, and Sarah was the first to walk in the room. Sarah performed in around fifteen shows over seven years as part of the young people’s group (starring in Flush, Ubu and so many more that I can’t remember the names of). Myself included, we performed in Godiva Awakes, the Olympic Games production for the West Midlands. We were collectively (and not secretively) disappointed by our very brown costumes (apparently we were Hummingbirds, we called ourselves The Hummingturds), whilst the other carnival outfits shone greens, pinks, purples and blues in front of the crowds of thousands.
After only three years, I cast Sarah (age 20 now) in our very first full mask production, Nursing Lives, and she, Honor Hoskins and I toured a 128 gig tour over 13 months. We came home each night so that I could take the kids to school the following morning and on the days we weren’t touring, Sarah went to Horticultural College in Pershore. We often drove late into the night, testing Sarah on her plant names and knowledge, and to stay awake we used to sing along to Kate Rusby, but we didn't know the words so instead used traffic road signs as the lyrics (Leicester 32 miles, A46…Exeter M5 South 97 miles) we sang along, torturing and howling to the brand new beautiful CD of Underneath the Stars!
Sarah next performed in Finding Joy (for three tours including internationally to Prague, Norway, Germany and the Edinburgh Festival). She took part in three tours of Sharing Joy to care homes for people with late stage dementia. Back in 2012, Sarah and I led the first pilot of this show (we were utterly clueless and very, very nervous). On the drive to the first care home in Herefordshire, Sarah told me that she "couldn’t believe why or how I'd convinced her into this job" and that she was petrified! On the way home, we were on cloud nine, and Sarah said that it was the best thing she’d ever done. In 2015, Sarah toured in The Best Thing, giving her best full mask performance to date, so good that I then cast her in the lead role of Finding Joy…which she had to turn down, joyfully pregnant with her first baby. There are lots of firsts and bests aren’t there?!
So, not long after, I convinced Sarah to work part time as one of our Office Administrators. During this time, as baby George got bigger, she was also Stage Manager for A Brave Face, performed in all three of our Walkabout acts, and ran full mask workshops. There isn’t anything Sarah can’t do. Oh, and somewhere in this timeline she took her driving test and learned to drive the Vamos Theatre long wheelbased, high top beast of a van…brilliantly.
The pandemic came along with another baby (Merryn) and every morning Sarah supported me before the kids woke up. She returned to her role as Administrator until 2018, learning all the elements of Arts Council England's Grantium reporting (amazing), she became the wiz lead of our Office System, booked all accommodation for tours (at last the actors stopped complaining as Sarah would only find places she’d be happy with). In 2023, we created the new post of Operations Manager and Sarah started tour booking (only to theatres she’d be happy to tour to - “we’re not going there, there isn’t a lift”).
In 2024, she took on more responsibilities of budgeting, more in-depth Arts Council reporting (at which she is extraordinary - it takes the right brain!), office management and company policies. Did anyone spot my plan? She’s been an Executive Producer in the making for years. With mentoring, gradually increased responsibility and growing confidence, in January of this year she was ready; a job that she was born to do. And so, nearly twenty years later, she’s part of the Executive team, alongside Honor Hoskins as Creative Producer.
How does Sarah make me feel? Safe, looked after, understood, respected and treasured. And the feeling is mutual (I think). There isn’t anything about Vamos Theatre that Sarah doesn't know and that includes the way in which I work and the way my brain ticks. We have a short cut that is worth hours, and trust that is priceless. So, as we welcome Sarah to her new, long awaited, starring role of Executive Producer, I expect rapturous applause and a standing ovation from all those who have worked with her over the years. You’ve earned it, Sarah.
Rachael Savage