La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School

Our Day Out

Our Day Out

Below, is an account of the recent Drama performance, Our Day Out, from La Retraite 6 A Level student of Drama and Theatre, Angeline Moya, who has undertaken work experience within the Drama department over a two week period.

During rehearsals of ‘Our Day Out' my involvement in shaping up the play primarily included overseeing that everything was in order. The central part I played was in helping with costumes, this comes down to fixing ties (which a lot of the younger years did not know how to tie), bobby-pinning oversized trousers and replacing unusable costume parts as we had an accident where a jacket got wet and needed to be replaced. Finally, when a run or performance ended, I organised the costumes correctly and neatly on their hangers, ready for another performance where nothing was lost.

Others in La Retraite Theatre Company oversaw the organising of the performing space; setting up the performance stage, putting out the seats for the audience by ensuring there was the right number of them and that they were not overly cramped. 

On performance days we worked as the ‘stage crew’ where our job was centred around ushering audience members into their seats, we created a system whereby we sat small children in the front rows so they could see without difficulty and keeping the actors quiet while waiting for their scene. Some of us even helped with moving props on and off stage during the performance (to guarantee a speedy transition between scenes). 

Without a doubt, the students gained a newly heightened confidence from their performance, this is because some found themselves nervous before going on stage, and the overall successful outcome gave them more reliance on their abilities. Students were also able to refine their understanding of acting as they received detailed and critical feedback (all with the aim of a perfect performance). Other benefits the students gained included obtaining an enhanced passion for theatre, this derives from the fact that they enjoyed working with their peers and friends to create a lively performance and entertained their audience, which is the most integral part of a theatrical performance.

 

 

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