In Your Shoes - Thomas Small

Monday

Today was the first day of year three of our project teaching children about awareness around vaping. We met a brilliant group of Primary 7 pupils at Our Lady’s Primary School, and honestly, they were fantastic. They were sharp, funny, and totally up for it, and the staff were so supportive. Safe to say, we had an absolute ball.

In the afternoon we switched gears into planning mode for our brand-new project launching this summer called Young Company. It’s an opportunity for young people aged 8–24 to level up their dance training and (fingers crossed) create a pathway into vocational training. We’re really excited to get started, especially once we move into our new studio (squeals!)

Tuesday

Today we went to see the building we’re moving into on 1st June, and the excitement levels are high. For the first time we’ll have a dance studio and our office in the same building, no more commuting between “thinking about dance” and “actually dancing.”

I’m currently deep in the very serious business of choosing paint swatches and debating what kind of seats we want (turns out there are a lot of seats in the world). This is who I am now!

After that it was back to the office for plenty of team meetings, planning for touring shows and lots of engagement work in the community. Busy...but the good kind of busy.

Wednesday

I started the day with a training session alongside a colleague, exploring the facilitation and teaching techniques we use in our schools’ projects. From vocal warm-ups (do, re, mi… anyone brave enough to go for the high ‘do'?) to character breakdowns, it turned into a surprisingly lively morning.

In the afternoon I met with our Brand, Audience and Digital team - known in-house as the BAD team (they’re actually very good). We were working on social media posts announcing that our show Small Town Boys, from last summer’s Edinburgh Fringe, has been nominated for an Off-West End Award at The Offies. Woohoo!

The ceremony is on 30th March, so when I’m not obsessing over paint colours for the new building, I’m busy trying to find something suitably glamorous to wear. Both decisions feel equally high stakes. 

Thursday

I began the day with an Artistic Creation planning meeting…essentially a very enthusiastic look at a lot of upcoming work.

We mapped out the September tour of Within This Dust, marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, plans for an English tour of Small Town Boys, and summer community touring for our delightfully chaotic little show Teeny Weeny(available for bookings in nurseries and care homes if anyone fancies some theatrical mayhem).

And because clearly, we don’t believe in doing things by halves, Paper Moon is heading to Dundee this Christmas, and we’re also recruiting for a new Producer and a General Manager.

All before lunch. No pressure.  Now, where’s my chicken salad….?

Friday

Picking a favourite project we do is strictly taboo…a bit like choosing your favourite child. However… I will say that Well Good, which we deliver in partnership with NHS Tayside, is definitely up there.

Each year we visit 116 primary schools, and over the past 10 years we’ve reached more than 70,000 children. The show explores behaviours around addiction and features a smart assistant/robot called Todo, who knows everything there is to know and can occasionally be a little bit sassy! Today we were at a school in Auchterarder and, safe to say, we had an absolute ball.

I finished the day chatting with our tutors to plan next week’s Dance for Parkinson’s classes. We run these free sessions every Tuesday for people living with Parkinson’s disease and their loved ones. The participants are the most wonderful group, and every week brings some really special moments.

There are still spaces available, so if you know anyone who might like to join us, please get in touch.