Sat 21st May - Performance Day!

       
By rights, this probably final entry in the Nettle Roots blog should be entitled "Final Drama Day", but of course that was last week.

Add caption

In fact, some of us very keen group members turned up as early as 10am.  Others managed a 1.30 start, but all were keen and eager. 




People turned up in various states, from distracted due to having their car clamped, to hung over, to panicking due to not being sure of lines, or not quite understanding the finer details of the storylines.  Despite all of these things, the group as always had a positive, flowing energy, and there was a lot of mutual support.  The arrival of the rest of the costumes at 1.30pm, as well as the final actor, was the extra boost that the group needed, and despite all the worries and stresses and distractions, managed to get in a dress rehearsal that wasn't too bad.


The confidence boost from a not too bad dress rehearsal was all that was needed in order to get the creative juices flowing, and between 3 and 5.30pm, when the audience started to arrive, further last minute rehearsals allowed the group to really start to loosen up and start playing with their characters.


The final half hour, spent in the dressing room, pacing up and down, learning lines (still), tweaking costumes and hairdo's, suddenly remembering to put props in the right places, and so on, seemed to go on forever, as I counted the minutes until the play started.

We wondered how many were in the audience - a full house at the Hayes is about 40 seats.  We'd seen about 4 or 5 people come in and were fully prepared to perform to 35 empty seats and someones mum and dad.  In the last few minutes one of the group bravely tiptoed out and peered through the stage door.  They came back wide eyed. "It's full!".  Hooray!!  That was all we needed to hear.

When the time for the performance finally came, it was time to finally let go, and experience the moment for all  it is worth.  


At this point there was no point worrying.  Some sterling 


performances were seen.  Actors 
ad libbed in places, guessed their entrances and exits as cues were a little muddled, laughed when a table fell down, and generally gave the most spirited performance yet.  Some of the performances were excellent; We were lucky to have such an eventful script to play with - the party scene was lively, the explosion was loud, there were love scenes, fights, moments of highly charged tension.

All in all, everybody worked very hard and I think that we can call this project a success.  We bought a group of people together, many of whom had not done drama before, most of whom didn't know the Hayes exists.  We used a new script, written by one of the Friends of the Hayes.  


We brought people into Stone who had never been there before - both to help with the play, and to come and see it on the night.


This community project brought together residents and Friends of the Hayes with community members from Stone, Stafford and even Shrewsbury, who all worked very hard to create a group performance in an intimate setting.  The atmosphere was very special.  


Family of the writer bought in snacks and drinks at the end, which were enjoyed by performers, technicians and audience as two hours were spent in lively socialising and networking.

 So, what were the benefits of this project to the individuals and communities involved?  It is difficult to speak on behalf of others, for myself, it has been fantastic to meet so many talented and committed people, from many different backgrounds and generations - many of whom I will be working with again.  The satisfaction of a succesfully completed project is a tremendous confidence booster, and gave me a sense of validity at the beginnings of my career as a drama practitioner.  


I gained an understanding of the Stone community - it's friendliness, and prettiness, the shops, the youth centre, some of the pubs, the train station.  I've made contact with musicians, artists and healers, both in Stone and other areas, and feel part of the Hayes community, both in terms of the house itself, and the extended community, through the Friends and networks.  


I hope that others felt these benefits, and maybe even different ones, and invite all involved to add to this blog if they would like to.  Ask for help with the technicalities if you need it!