Lizzie Ward: Treading the boards in a Chickenshed When I was 7 years old, in 1991, a year after I had been diagnosed as being deaf, the neighbour across the road suggested to my Mum that I join an inclusive theatre company called Chickenshed . So called because they began life in a chicken shed! At the time, they were operating out of church halls, and often performing in venues such as Sadler's Wells, The Old Bull Arts Theatre (in High Barnet) and The Equinox (a nightclub in Leicester Square). For me, being part of Chickenshed was a way to channel my expressiveness and imagination -- the children's workshops were brilliant fun.From a young age, I learnt to work with a mixed group of people. It was, and still is, a place for everyone -- of any background, gender, ability. In a way, it strives to be a place where children and adults feel a part of something, where they won't be judged. Unlike in the outside world, where barriers often let people down, Chickenshed brings people together to create theatre without barriers. In later years, as I grew up and went from primary to secondary education, Chickenshed grew and moved to their own purpose built theatre in Chase Side, Southgate. Moving to secondary school brought its own challenges. It was being moved to a school with hundreds of pupils and a small HIU (Hearing Impaired Unit) that changed my previously outgoing and exuberant personality into an armour of shyness.