Student Case Study: The Octagon Theatre & Westlands Entertainment Venue

Student Name: Juju

Pathways Programme: Pathways to Arts, Culture and Heritage (2025 cohort)

Internship Role: Arts Engagement & Outreach Assistant

Internship Employer: The Octagon Theatre & Westlands Entertainment Venue

Summary of Organisation: The Octagon Theatre and Westlands Entertainment Venue in Yeovil, are two central community hubs for local residents, offering access to arts, culture and film for residents across the South West. There is a team of 108 members of staff across both sites (24 full & part time staff and over 80 casual members of staff) with over 80 front of house volunteers who are members of The Foyer Club. The Octagon & Westlands stage over 230 performances each year, from comedy to music, plays to dance, and our legendary pantomime, bringing the magic of live performance to people across the South West. As a well-established arts organisation, we became an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) in April 2023 with the aim of unleashing creativity, connecting our communities, improving access to the arts, and nurturing talent in Somerset and the region.

Celebrating Somerset’s creative & cultural practitioners – Intern Juwairiyyah (Juju) Patel

“When the “you’ve been partnered with The Octagon Theatre & Westlands Entertainment Venue” email came in, I was torn between relief at reaching the official internship stage and nerves because wow! Professional working world, here we come! The nerves steadily grew until it got to the night before and I found myself unable to sleep, musing over how the week would shape out whilst lamenting over the quickly approaching 6am wakeup.

That being said, this week is beyond what I could have imagined, at no point in my midnight wonderings did I prepare myself for how rewarding it is to see how culture and art can positively impact people of all ages and backgrounds, bringing joy into their daily lives. One of the reasons why I chose The Octagon & Westlands was because I’ve always been interested in outreach – bridging that gap for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and giving back to the community. In the past when I’ve had the chance to volunteer, it has been pretty run of the mill: talking to patients in hospitals, story time with nursery children, but the experience I’ve had at The Octagon & Westlands has broadened my understanding of how the arts such as theatre, singing and dancing, provide the local community with a chance to come together in huge cultural events or performances, creating formative memories for those who may not have had the chance otherwise.

My first morning on the job had me organising seating plans and assigning dressing rooms for Centre Stage, a showcase comprised of six schools and the Octagon’s very own Junior Choir. Honestly, it was quite fascinating to see how the different departments e.g. Front of House and Event Managers worked together to deliver a seamless show so the schools and parents visiting would have the best experience possible, with emphasis placed on making sure the students felt like stars in their own right (tech rehearsals and dressing rooms allocated for all of them including the student presenters).

In the afternoon, I was able to participate in Carrie’s Movement Through Cancer session, and when I say, this had me riding such a high, I instantly claimed it was the best day by far (reader, it was only day one)! As a group, we found ourselves in Spain – the weather certainly played its part! – learning flamenco inspired choreography. The highlight for me was when we partnered up with a fellow attendee and created our own routine from the movements we’d just learned in the session. Many a run through had me and my partner floundering at the beat counts, but the pinnacle of the session was the final, final run at the end of the session, a group performance, where we stopped focusing on the rest of the group’s choreography and just focused on ourselves, completing our choreography flawlessly. The cool down and subsequent tea chat was full of laughter and fun, although, I am going to accredit a huge chunk of joy at the satisfaction I felt for my partner and me. Having the chance to join this session allowed me to see first-hand how huge an impact combining dance and healthcare can have on a cancer patient’s physical and mental health; in a room of people facing adversity, they had come together, forming friendships and improving their overall wellbeing. Carrie offers a variety of classes and is looking to create another – I have no doubt it will be just as successful as the others – going through the impact reports and survey data was solid data demonstrating the many positives of these art-based health classes.

As a keen reader (naturally, as is to be expected of the English Literature student) I would find myself reading every page on the local What’s On brochures that would be stocked in my local library every month, but I never expected to find myself on the other side of the brochure – experiencing for myself how shows are organised, promoted, performed and finally, the buzz of a job well done. When you flick through the pages of a brochure, it is quite hard to grasp the breadth and variety of the shows a theatre can offer, looking from the outside in, unless it’s a billing you’re keenly interested in, it’s very easy for the words to blur together on the page. Creating a treasure hunt activity for Yeovil Together to raise awareness of the jobs in the creative sector allowed me to learn about the different roles at Westlands as well as highlighting the range of shows that have graced the halls of The Octagon & Westlands; there truly is something for everyone!

Tuesday saw me helping with the preparation of three different events, emphasising the range of activities Westlands has to offer, some of which are entirely free, but also allowing me to appreciate teachers everywhere – planning a craft session when it feels like every idea has been exhausted truly is not for the weak. Planning ideas for crafts based on the end of year Panto (Beauty and the Beast), coincidentally, felt like a task catered to me, because suddenly the fact that Belle was my favourite princess meant that I could play around with combining more than just a symbolic rose motif, for example, Belle’s love for books acting as a natural segue for a bookmark crafting session.

The current highlight of the week is the Centre Stage production I helped to oversee on Wednesday. A lot of work was put into organising the various schools that were popping in and out all day, with ages ranging from as young as 5 to 17 years old. As someone who has performed showcases on stage before, and created set designs, I had some experience with shows, but this was a great insight into the management and coordination. Running back and forth was more fun than it sounds, helping direct schools to the tech rehearsals and ensuring everyone was on stage when they needed to be was, in my opinion, the best way to see how beneficial the outreach programmes at Westlands are. These are children, whom for many, it may have been their first experience on stage, and it’s now a core memory for them – and for me also! It filled me with immense delight to watch how the children’s faces morphed from nerves to exuberance, talking to the children and their teachers, gathering how proud they were of themselves, in turn, made me feel quite content and the urge to provide other people with an incredible opportunity such as this, was very strong.

As of writing, this weeklong internship has yet to be completed, with one day left for Yeovil Together, a celebration of culture and diversity. I just want to take the opportunity to thank Katherine, Carrie, Jess, Andrea and the many other staff members that have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and instantly part of the team despite my very short stay here. This experience has been amazing from the very moment. I’ve gained many new skills from data processing to writing multiple blog posts, proofreading annual reports to being able to design posters for interactive activities. I’m reluctant to say goodbye to everyone here – it’s true what they say, time does fly when you’re having fun!”