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For the past few months, I've given my life to our Drama club production of Dracula. If Dracula were a piece of toast, then it's buttered with our souls. Tonight was our last night. Which means: -I will be cutting my hair, grown out for Victorian hairstyles. -No more making mascara sideburns. Unless I lose my sense of shame. -Coming home before eight PM (have you heard of this sun thing? Really bizarre. Light from the sky?). -My grades will curve up from a stress-induced rock bottom.
And I am really, really sad.
Before each performance, we do a little warmup energy circle thing. We all hold hands, chant, jump up and down (you have to be there. Otherwise . . . well yeah). Anyways, before we started, we did something else. This is the last play on our stage for a lot of our actors--they're seniors now. And so our director went around to each and said something to them about their time in drama, and they each in turn made short speeches, and there was a lot of crying.
As I was listening to this, I was really just amazed. Drama club was life for these guys. Me, it's just been a hobbie, as I consciously regard it. Done a few plays and that's it. But it's such a strong, supportive, loving group--I'd say even in my one year it's become my family, really my family. They accept everyone and anyone, I've never noticed any real rancor. I love these people. I'm an IB program kid, in an out-of-district school. I always thought I'd hate to fail out because leaving IB would be painful, not being in those classes. But now I see leaving Drama is what would hurt, what would kill me. That stage will always feel like a second home to me. These people are in general nothing like me but I fit in better than anywhere else. And if I had a problem, no doubt all of Drama club would know before my IB classmates and my own family. And no doubt they'd do all they could.
I'm babbling and repeating myself, but it's gotta be said. I've never fit in anywhere. I've never developed close friends, really, I've never fit into a group or clique. I've never found people I just clicked with. And now tonight, laughing and hugging people as I left the stage, I figured out: this place fits me life a glove. I have an anchor now, and I'll be so sad when not too long from now, I'll lose it, or at least fade it, when I leave for college.
After the show we had our big party at our Harker's house. And I feel so happy and so sad.
As to the show itself: it went great, even though we ended up entirely improvising a scene when lines were forgotten (and this a scene where lines were meant to come lightning fast, overlapping each other). But it was, we were told, practically seamless. Someone said to our director we weren't high school theater--said that we were good as Broadway-bound. A few other cast and crew members took me aside tonight and told me I really did have a future in acting, which is surprising for me.
And before the show, I told everyone I hoped they died of ice weasels (because break a leg just wasn't enough).
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote: (have you heard of this sun thing? Really bizarre. Light from the sky?).
As I was never in Drama, this is the most that I can relate to. Any engineering rate in the Navy can. However, in High School I used to be one of the small group that helped set up the programs (pamphlets) for the school play. My friend Leo was another one. He actually did other stuff with the play. My sister was the one (of her and myself) that did the long hours on the play.
Funny part was, she was proud of me for the work I put into the program. Seeing as those who put it together got recognized at the end of it (in the program). It was something our computer teacher did for us. He really only picked us because we had no need to continue the class (we were quite fluent in the programs being used), but had to have something to do.
You have next year right? Just different people, same type of attitude. The attitude generally stays the same.
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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quote: This is the last play on our stage for a lot of our actors--they're seniors now. And so our director went around to each and said something to them about their time in drama, and they each in turn made short speeches, and there was a lot of crying.
We did something similar in my high school. We'd all stand around in a circle before a show, and hold lit candles (some of us praying that our hair wouldn't catch fire)... but anyone who wanted to would speak. Say anything they want. And I always laughed at the seniors who would cry, and then last year, I was a senior, and...
Yes, I cried. I was so sad it was over.
I'm happy for you that you got to experience the insane magic that is theatre. Posts: 7877 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I'm not a senior myself this year. But this is my minor epiphany, and last night was like the day your older brother or sister goes away to college. Kind of caught between "Yay, I get their room now!" and missing them terribly.
Good thing I have more time in Drama . . .
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I wasn't involved in theater in any way (which my mother reminds me I should have been on a nearly daily basis). But I was in orchestra, and I deffinatly get the "older siblings going away, sad but you get their room" thing. That's exactly how it was, for three years. And now it's the younger siblings that kicked you out and ran off to hawaii.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I am sure that my son Shlomo will going through the "let-down after the show" syndrome after tonight, after his high school theatre group finishes their last performance of Les Miz, the end of a two week run of performances.
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I'm in the last two weeks before my drama club puts on its spring play, and instead of Hell Week I get two double Hell Weeks. We couldn't get the auditorium for any weekends before spring sports start, so I get to go from school to track practice to rehearsal. I don't act, I do tech, and luckily it's a very low maintenance play, set-wise. Still, I'll be at school from 7 am until probably 10:30, 11 pm for the next two weeks.
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Ela: Wow--two weeks doing Les Miz . . . is that a show every night? Royalties must be killing them . . .
Next year I'll probably be a techie for the most part. We're doing two musicals and I can neither sing nor dance.
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote: Raia... You weren't in a club, you were in a cult...
Come on Stryker... what's the difference?
Ela: We did Les Mis too. That was my senior production. That's the one I cried at. It was amazing (right, B-tonians??)!
Posts: 7877 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Shlomo's school's Les Miz production started with two "gala" performances on Wednesday, March 9 and a Thursday, March 10 - they charge extra for those and have fancy food. That was followed Saturday night, Sunday afternoon performances for two weekends and another Thursday performance. They had an extra (and last) Sunday night performance last night, due to the popularity of the show.
It's a very tough show for a high school group - with the singing, the numerous set changes, and all the details of lighting, sound and music, but those kids did a fabulous job.
[ March 21, 2005, 11:10 AM: Message edited by: Ela ]
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We have a rather low budget, so we can't do all we'd like. Our auditorium was designed with Drama in mind but not by anyone who knew what Drama might actually, you know, need.
Final tallies show Dracula brought in over $4000, so we're hoping to pour that into what we can improve.
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posted
That sounds like the kind of high school drama program I remember, Joldo. The school Shlomo goes to has the most professional level high school program I have ever seen in a school that's not a magnet for the arts.
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