Drama – Presenting a Pantomine.

When the roles were given out, I have to say I was worried about how I was going to take on such a challenging role. I was given the part of a wicked. I wasn't sure if I was capable of such a role because I usually play roles less challenging and have more of sweetness to them, rather than evil! I was also unsure of how I would be portrayed at the initial performance and of what people would think of me. I evaluated the situation and thought I could experiment with this role and I realized I wasn't to worry about what others would think and I should just give it my all and do my best and most of all enjoy it! The main problems of this role was having to move in a certain way and hold my body, so it looks deformed but yet I had to keep my muscles relaxed otherwise I could do some damage to my muscles and be in discomfort. Also I had to explore different voices I could use which posed a problem because the voices I felt sounded better always hurt my throat and so would be impossible to do throughout a performance without damaging my throat but I resolved this problem and changed my voice so I still sounded the part and I wasn't doing any damage to my throat and also that would be clear and could be understood. As we had two casts we wicked roles all had to work closely together so the two different performances still had the same interpretation we were all happy about. I have to admit that I wasn't sure how it was going to all fit together and if we would carry it off, as we seemed to argue a lot about how exactly we were going to do each scene but luckily we started to accept other people's ideas and tried different things out.

I feel that this acceptance became very important for the whole group as it then enabled us to bond with great ease. As we became more experienced in working with specific people, we began to see things on their level. This allowed us to put together ideas with had an overall positive effect on the whole production. This closeness within the group meant that more time could be spent learning helpful techniques from other members of the group instead of arguing.

Whilst the group was practicing on stage, we realized that our gestures were not large enough to create the strong impact that we would need. In order for our actions to be a success, there would have to be a change. This problem was soon resolved as we looked back to previous techniques we had used which were simple and effective. We adapted these methods into our actions and we soon received the effect that we had hoped for. This adoption of Comadia was necessary as average, everyday actions we not suitable for use in our pantomime.

We had weekend rehearsals and they were an enjoyable experience. We didn't have the restriction of uniforms to hold us back and the atmosphere was not as stressful as it is at school hours, as you aren't thinking about the next lesson you are going into or that you just had. It was an extremely worry free environment! As a group I feel we bonded more and I fell we felt more like a team. Sunday rehearsals always had a buzz about them as we had all had a rest from school and had come from different places and so we were all bringing that energy into the group and so we had more spark on a Sunday than in a lesson during the week.

As the time got nearer and nearer I was bursting with excitement! I just couldn't wait to get up on stage and perform! As the day arrived I couldn't wait to get to school! The excitement was starting to turn to nerves! The day was passing very quickly from the time I got up to when we were getting ready for the performance. There was a buzz in the room as we all changed into our white t-shirts and black pants. The energy in the room was amazing! You could feel a buzz coming off people. I was loving every second of getting ready but the anticipation of waiting to go on was so nerve racking! About ten minutes before we were do go on stage Mr. Keating calmed us all down by doing some simple movement and breathing exercises which calmed us all right down and I felt very calm but still very excited! As we stood behind the stage waiting for our que, it hit me what we had waited for and had worked so hard for was actually here and we were about to go and perform for all these people! It was such an adrenalin rush! As the curtains opened I thought "This is it Liz go for it and give it your best shot, you only have once chance at it so just go for it!"

As the performance progressed I just enjoyed it more and more and there was never a time where I was worrying really every thing just seemed to flow smoothly. I was lost in my character. I loved every minute of it and it seemed to be over so quickly! The performance built itself up throughout, You give something to the audience and they respond and you get it back and then the end comes and its like an explosion of emotions! There wasn't one point where the audience didn't seem to enjoy it, they played a big part in this pantomime because without them we couldn't of done it! Also without such a lively audience I feel we couldn't of done it as well as we did!

This production has affected me greatly. I feel I am more aware of how a production is put together and how achieving it is. It has also brought me closer to people in my drama group that I wasn't too close to before. I love the feeling of being onstage, it is my favourite feeling in the world! I would love to carry on and do lots more performances in my life. If I could do this pantomime again I would jump at the chance. It was a challenging project but it was worthwhile in the end!

This experience is something that I will never forget and I am very thankful to Mr. Keating and everyone in my drama group, as without them the pantomime wouldn't have been possible.