Volunteer of the month!
Alex Green, volunteer coordinator spoke to Hester Schofield who has been named our March Featured Volunteer.
Hester joined us as a volunteer in October 2021 and has been a committed mentor at The Vault and our other after school clubs.
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your working life?
I studied Fine Art and trained as a sculptor which led me into performance art, making experimental films and installations, then directing music promos, commercials and drama. I was good at coming up with ideas but pretty terrible at directing as I couldn't think quickly enough to make practical decisions on set. I was much better at coming up with stories and writing scripts, so I then spent twenty years as a scriptwriter and script editor. Until I worked in Hollywood as a team writer which was grueling and made me realise I would rather be poor and write my own ideas than sell my soul to write other people's bad ideas. For ten years I was a lecturer on M.A Screenwriting courses, including Goldsmiths, London College of Communication and Bournemouth University which has given me time to write my stories, do research and now I design and produce my own ideas in Virtual Reality, which is a combination of building 3D environments ( sculpture & installations ) and storytelling so I've ended up where I started!
What attracted you to volunteering with BODAN?
I'm impressed with BODAN’s ethos of turning children's stories into physical artifacts and showing children how many different ways stories infiltrate our everyday life. Bridport is a small rural town where children's access to the wider world can be limited and they don’t have the same opportunities as children in large cities to realise their ambitions. BODAN helps them do that and believe their dreams are possible. I have always done community workshops as a way of sharing skills and getting kids and adults excited about making and storytelling with art, writing and video production. I really liked the idea of someone else doing all the hard work with me assisting and what I could learn from that. I have an autistic child who doesn't like workshops or socialising so it means I get to spend time with other children, with different ideas in a more sociable, creative context.
Any stand out memories from the workshops?
For me the magic moment is always when a child feels gripped by the need or desire to communicate the idea in their head...... and that happens all the time in the workshops which is what makes them so wonderful.
Any advice for people thinking of volunteering with BODAN?
The children benefit enormously from volunteers supporting them to communicate their ideas whether that's helping them to ideate, conceptualise, plan what they have to say, write the words down for them or just encouraging them. Volunteer for a block of workshops and see how the children grow and evolve beyond your expectations. BODAN can only thrive and grow long term with volunteers consistently committing.
It's your last day on earth and you can go anywhere you like and have one super power, what would that be and where would you go?
I would float in a warm sea and marvel at everything I have seen and done, all the people I've met in this life until the stars came out. I’d take one last gaze at our extraordinary universe. My super power would be a teleporter that could detect water, that could transport me and my kid to a planet where we could survive, taking with us plenty of ideas and new stories to tell.
Thanks so much for you time Hester, we have been bowled over to learn about your amazing life and career! Just as the young writers at The Vault were when they practiced their interview skills on you! We feel very fortunate to have you on the team.
If you are interested in volunteering as a story mentor or illustrator with The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares please email alex@thebankofdreamsandnightmares.org