Last week was extremely hectic as we finally took all of our hours of hard rehearsal to stage in Ashcroft theatre and performed to hundreds of children.
For me it wasn't until the show actually reached Ashcroft stage that I fully realised its full potential and how much our hard work had paid off. Our scenes became tighter and had were filled with high energy , also seeing the set on its stage really helped create the main character of the show which was the loft. With the pressure to deliver to all the children that were so excited about the performance and actually seeing our piece come to life the performance picked up an immense amount. The pirate scene in particular is one I am most proud to have been in. This was my lost boy scene so technically my main part. Yet it was the energy of the ensemble that really made this scene epic and allowed e personally to feed of it and create a more exciting performance as a lost boy. The pirate dance number used the most choreography of the performance and also involved sound by using props. This gave the number huge amounts of dimension and really bought the scene to life as where ever you looked there was something interesting going on. The biggest challenge for me in this scene was making sure i kept in character and didn't get carried away whilst feeding of the pirates energy and the children's reaction to this scene. Though the scene was meant to show a hugely energetic ship to make it work it required a lot of control and care as without the scene would become overwhelming and spiral out of control .
A role that I fully realised the importance of nearing the end of the project was the ensemble. Often people are told pieces are ensemble pieces so that people with smaller roles feel better . At the beginning I think i hugely underestimated the importance of the ensemble to the piece and the importance of creating full characterisation when I was part of the ensemble. However during the last runs and throughout the performances I realised it truly was an ensemble piece and without a really hard working ensemble the performance would have been flat and struggled to reach the children. In the court room scene I feel the ensemble were a vital component. It was the jurors job to retain a huge energy throughout the dialogue and give something for the Queen of Hearts and White Rabbit to react from . In order for strong characters to be created the jurors were vital as without them there would be no stimulus to react to. Being part of the ensemble here made me realise just how important creating a strong focused character is , even if not speaking. Previously I had not been bold enough with my choices however when I focused my mind and energy and really thought about who I was playing and their relationship to the scene and the surroundings I was able to create a noticeable character part of the scene and was also able to react and exist in the scene to a much higher standard.
Throughout the performance ensemble is hugely important as without it we would not have been able to create the dance and song numbers , also by making everyone involved I think we all pushed and taught ourselves to have more confidence and strive. Whilst more importantly illustrating to the children that we performed to that anything is possible and can be achieved through hard work .
Though are performance ended up to be a very successful show it was much more than just a performance. It was a way in which to communicate to many children and try and let them feel an effect from theatre as an art form . The performance had the clear message of telling children to read more and use their imaginations rather than always using a screen. I think this was told clearly and hopefully children will listen to that message. However for me the thing that made the show more than just a performance was the fact that it was a means to introduce a lot of kids to the theatre if they hadn't been before or even to broaden children's art experiences . I also think that it was important that our company were all young people meaning that for many kids it may have opened their eyes up to what an arts education is capable to producing. Which in many cases these kids may have been sheltered from . Though we didn't get to meet the children and talk to them about the show seeing their faces in the audience was extremely rewarding and did make it all worth it. I could tell that for some children we were creating something amazing and new for them that they may never have had the chance to experience before. As I love theatre and am a strong believer of its power in communicating with people from all classes , ages and backgrounds to see work that I was part of having such a big effect was remarkable.
This links into the difference of being a performer to a facilitator. In ashcroft though we were all performers we were more than that as we were not performing for our selves but more for the children. The whole play had been written and designed for the kids and thus our jobs as performers was to facilitate theatre to kids and make it accessible to them .
Overall I am very proud of our work in the Ashcroft Community project. Out of all of the piece the only part i felt really could have been improved was the Hundred Acre Woods forest as I thought it lacked slightly in the use of space and energy creating in the other scenes and was possibly slightly to young for some of the audience there . However the piece had to build up therefor its less big energy can be justified. Yet considering the time period I am very proud of the show we created. During the beginning of the process I had struggled to fully engage as I felt intimidating to sing and dance and also didn't understand how the project had a strong relationship with the community. Once I fully committed and let my guard down and really pushed my self I realised i actually could do all the elements that went into the piece. Also performing to all the children and seeing their reactions showed me that even if i didn't have face to face talking contact with my community my work as a whole had an immense effect. Through Ashcroft I have learnt the power of going for things and putting commitment and energy into all work even if it doesn't appear to be 'right' for you at the start . I ended up loving the performance and really enjoying both the singing and dancing parts and I have taken away a big lesson on how to approach projects with an open mind and leave pre conceptions at the door. Hopefully the project has not only had a positive effect on me making me relaise why I love performing , but also on the children and either stimulated there passion or showing them a new pathway.
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