Rehearsal Blog
Week Six: Final Presentation
Thursday 26 June 2008
The day of the final presentation! Students arrived at the theatre in the morning, buzzing with excitement and nerves. We had a very tight schedule to stick to, with the presentation at 3pm. Before this, it was vital that each group had time onstage to run through their entrances and exits, to have a dry run of their lines and to get a sense of the space…and we only had 45 minutes with each group to practice everything! Group One stayed in the theatre and the Rosmersholm group got into position and ran through their scenes. It was decided that everyone would remain frozen onstage, and come to life when it was their turn to perform. The Crucible group then did the same. Meanwhile, Group Two were taken on a backstage tour, showing them behind the scenes of the Almeida Theatre, before their turn to rehearse on the stage.
Going from classroom to stage was a big step, and performances that in previous weeks had felt full, now were in danger of being swallowed by the size of the auditorium. However, I think by just being up there and experiencing the feeling, most students suddenly became aware of just how much they would need to up the volume. A quick spot of lunch (time was of the essence!) and back in the theatre for a much needed vocal and physical warm up. Then we were ready to do a dress rehearsal. Students had brought with them long skirts or trousers; a gesture of costume to help them get out of 2008. Lucy, our stage manager had found some beautiful lighting states and Wally and I had dug out some pieces of music that we thought complemented the spirit of both plays, which would play each group in and out of their scenes. I was actually a bit nervous myself! This would be the first and last time we would run through everything before the final presentation; there was no time to go back over things if they went wrong! This was also the first time that everyone would see what each other had been working on for the past several weeks. However, I had nothing to worry about. Everyone knew what they were doing, the dress rehearsal went pretty smoothly and students were a respectful audience for each other. There were some forgotten lines and nervous giggles, but that is what a dress rehearsal is for! We then had only ten minutes left before the audience were due to arrive, so after some quick notes from Wally and myself – mainly about projection, focus, volume and the importance of staying in character, even if things went wrong – they had just a few minutes to get themselves ready to perform.
The performance itself was a complete triumph. Everyone stepped up a notch in terms of their acting, volume and energy. Scenes flowed smoothly from one to the next, the transitions were slick and professional, and each excerpt told a clear and interesting story. Everyone knew what they were saying, and why they were saying it, there was not a single forgotten line (well, not one that I or the audience noticed!). What I was most impressed with was the students’ sense of commitment to their roles, with everyone putting in 100%. Suddenly, as I watched scenes from Rosmersholm next to scenes from The Crucible, I saw each character in a new light, and heard lines in a way I had never heard them before: each play was shedding light on the other.
After the final applause, the sense of achievement in the air was fantastic. I really felt that everyone had gone on a massive journey from that first session. When we told the students in the first session that they would be performing on the Almeida stage, in front of an audience, we were hit with gasps of horror! But what we saw today was a group of actors, focused on their job, and enjoying performing to others.
Kate Budgen Residency Co-Director