New Plays - Night B

Even though this wasn't opening night, I was naturally more excited: Night B was my night of performance!

Andrea, Paula, and I got to studio theatre at around 7:30. I was at first a little worried that I would be the last cast member there, but, fortunately, my director showed up fifteen minutes later. She looked very pale, and she was not wearing her usual layers of colours. She comes up to us, saying that she is exhausted because she is sick. I ask her what has been keeping her to her bed, and she says, "Oh, I just haven't stopped vomiting!"
I take a very discreet step back. I know I'm being paranoid, but I can't help myself.

Because we were the second play on that evening, after a 40-minute play and after intermission, we had plenty of time to warm-up, get dressed, and get into character. Amy and I got dressed right after the first play started. Our costumes are simple: Amy is in a sweater and simple pants, with her long, black hair down; I am in jeans overalls, a red t-shirt, and my hair is in braids. Though I don't look my sexiest, this has got to be the comfiest costume I have ever worn.

My director, Amy, and I go upstairs to the Brown Room for our warm-up. We do a body warm-up, as well as a getting-into-character warm-up, led by our director. Afterwards, Amy, Jessie (stage manager), our director, and I go outside for our voice warm-up. I lead the warm-up, with plenty of tongue twisters, running up and down the scale, and singing Phantom of the Opera.

The thing Amy and I worry most about is the placement of the logs we sit on and the damn fishing poles. We keep going up to the stage crew and asking them how exactly they placed our logs. Jessie and our director laughs at us for being so paranoid. We then spend our last fifteen minutes or so sitting on the counter of the guy's dressing room. We are getting more and more excited as time goes on; I can start to feel the rush.
We all have a group hug before going on stage. I try to forget about the fact that my director has the stomach flu. We tell each other to break our legs and then we take our places in the dark wings. As soon as I hear our intro music, the adrenaline hits and spreads through my entire body.

Before I know it, our play is over, we bow, and the audience is clapping and hooting. I get off-stage, all flushed and very happy as to how well our play went. It went extremely smoothly; even the fishing poles were co-operative! We all rejoice in the girl's dressing room. Jessie gives us each a small party bag with a little fishing game -- the one that you have to catch the fish with a magnetic fishing pole before they close their mouths again.
All in all, the performance was great, and all five of us felt very good about it.

I can't really comment about the first performance of the night, as I did not see it. It was called Vae Victus, and it is a depressing and angry play about a rape. Yeesh. Fortunately, the co-ordinators decided to end each of the nights with a comedy, so everyone can leave in high spirits.

Catching Memories, which is the name of the play I was in, came after Vae Victus. Our play is about two sisters: Jenna, who is 19, and Leslie, 13. Naturally, I played Leslie. I based a lot of my character around my sister, as Leslie and Franziska both enjoy the outdoors, love animals, and live in magical worlds. The two sisters are fishing for the day, talking about their rocky past and their current joys. Half-way through the play, they encounter Ruby, a lone wanderer where no one quite knows where he is from. He is a very interesting and charming character. Leslie and him get along very well. The play ends with him falling into the water when the girls catch a fish. After the girls leave the scene, Ruby comes on, sopping wet and puts a beautiful red rose on the logs. He leaves the scene, humming the lullaby that the girls sing and talk about in the play. The light fades and some folksy music comes on. The play may be a bit odd, what with Ruby's disappearance that doesn't cause much worry, especially for Leslie, but it is very special. My entire cast agreed that "beautiful and simple" are the perfect words to describe it.

An Unfortunate Series of Murders wrapped up the evening. Omigod! What else can I say, but WOW! What an amazingly funny play. The most amazing part about it is that it was written by Gordon Watts, a third year drama student. I actually know this guy! The play was a spoof on Murder Mysteries. It was typical British humour, but the entire play was a satire. I really enjoyed it. I must say that the best actor in the play was Ian, who played the Butler. His character and British accent resembled very closely Riff-Raff's from Rocky Horror Picture Show. He was great.

The night was definitely successful in leaving us all in high spirits.