Life @ EA

We caught up with the cast of Treasure Island (P7 & S1) to discuss the challenges of acting, rehearsing and performing in front of a live audience.

What was your favourite part of the process?

The first time we ran it through from beginning to end was fun.

I liked dress rehearsal because we got to do it for an audience (P6 & P7 pupils) and it was good experience.

I really liked when we were given our costumes for the first time. The shirts and old bandannas were cool, and I was excited for people to see them.

When we added light and sound because they provided more atmosphere and helped the story-telling.

I liked our rehearsals, run-throughs, and being here every break and during weekends. It was really good.

I like performing to different age groups because their reactions are different.

This is my first experience with Drama. My parents encouraged me to do it, so I gave it a go and I quite like it.

My favourite part was the end, because when you finish, everyone starts shouting and cheering. It never gets old.

What did you find was the most challenging part of the process?

Remembering what scenes come next, what props I needed for each scene and where they were back stage.

Performing to my yeargroup. I found it quite scary because there were people that I know in the audience.

Does it make a big difference in performing before strangers?

I’d say that you feel like there is more pressure performing in front of your parents because you want to do a good job in front of them and don’t want to mess up.

When performing to strangers, I put myself out there more.

Getting everything to come together – scene changes, props, etc.

Cues were quite hard at first, because lines get jumbled up, and knowing where you are supposed to be, because your next position could be across the stage.

Learning my lines was the most difficult part.

Keeping quiet backstage was quite difficult because I like chatting.

In rehearsals before Christmas it was really a shambles, but when we came back from break and ran the whole thing through, everything fell into place.

Is that because after all the practice and the work you could just have fun, or were you still thinking about it while performing?

Performing is just fun, but if you stutter or forget a line, it goes from fun to serious quite quickly because you don’t want to be the one that messes up.

If I have several lines, I start the first line and remember what comes next as I am speaking.

It got fun after we did the first run-through, but it was still serious because you want it to be good.

Is performing before an audience fun or scary?

I find it scary because I’m afraid people will judge me.

I found there was a mix of emotions depending on the audience’s reaction and what I was meant to be feeling in a scene.

I get quite nervous in the first scene that I’m in, but once the scene if over, I get the hang of it and realise that it is not that bad.

It depended on the crowd. It can be uplifting when the crowd is laughing when we’re being funny. But people laughed and it really brought my mood up because I knew people were enjoying it.

I find acting really fun. Maybe my first time on stage there are a few nerves, but honestly, after that, it’s just fun and enjoyable.

I definitely felt less nervous when there was no audience.

The more confident you are within a scene, even if you’re an extra, the more fun it is.

I don’t really mind who I am performing to because I can’t really see them because the stage lights are blinding!

I enjoy acting, so the hardest part was not smiling, especially when we were supposed to be serious. I had a half-smirk during the whole show.

Were there any times in the performance when you forgot that the audience was there?

When you have a lot of lines and have to focus, you forget they are there. But when I wasn’t talking I noticed loads of eyes looking down on us.

Some scenes felt like having a normal conversation and you would forget anyone else was there.

At the beginning, you know they are there, but then you get into the spirit of it and forget about them until they laugh or react.

You can feel the energy that the audience gives off so I always know they are there. Eventually, I forget that they are watching a performance, but it is always clear they are there.

Usually, in the middle of my performance, I forget that there are a lot of eyes watching me, and I just get into it. It’s sad that tonight is our last performance.

When you’re not saying lines, you can sometimes wander off and it’s hard not to smile at the people you know.

When I look at the audience, I think, ‘Wow, these people have come to see us and chose to do this tonight.’

When the audience laughs, they are laughing with you, but before you go on, you are afraid that they will laugh at you.

When I see them smile or laugh, it makes me feel good inside, and I think, ‘Why did I think they would judge me?’ And then I just want to do my best and perform for them.

If I feel nervous, I remember that they are not here to judge me, they are here to be entertained.

Personally, what do you think Treasure Island is about?

Pirates, the sea and having an adventure.

Having an adventure on stage with all of your friends.

Finding treasure, good and evil and finding treasure! But throughout the play, you also develop bonds with the people you are acting with, so you make a lot of friends along the way.

Going out and exploring the world, experiencing danger and building friendships.

We couldn’t do this sort of thing during Covid, so Treasure Island to me is about being able to have fun with a group of friends.

Treasure Island is about adventure, but since I’m new to the Senior School I’m meeting new people and making friends which is an adventure, too.

It’s about everyone getting together and having fun (acting) and being part of the experience.

I think it’s about loyalty because lots of people abandon others.

Do you enjoy becoming another character? What was that experience like?

When I’m playing my role, I really do feel immersed in it. I had to put on an accent and it was fun getting into character.

It’s fun to be someone else, especially when you have to act like a character you’ve never seen before.

My character is a ten-year-old boy and I’m eleven, so I can relate to my character’s feelings, but it’s fun doing things that I wouldn’t normally do.

I’ve never done a play before, but because I was an extra, I got to play more than one part and it was really fun switching between roles. I was a pirate, a sailor, a sign (laughter) plus you get to watch it and perform it. You are entertained while you are entertaining.

I was James’s mum, so I had to play someone who was ten years older than me (laughter) and I had wrinkles. It was a lot older than who I am but I got to make it my own. She was quite different to a regular mum!

My character was pretty much the opposite of who I am (‘Really?’ everyone asks) so it was quite weird saying things that I wouldn’t normally say.

For me, when you are acting a character, you are that character, so you can’t be embarrassed.

I really enjoy putting myself in someone else’s shoes and exploring what they would do in that situation.

What would you like to do next?

I would like to do a big book series put into one play.

I think it would be fun to do a comedy because it gets people laughing and makes a good atmosphere.

Since this is my first play, I’d like to do lots of different ones because none of them will be the same.

I want to do The Play That Goes Wrong!

Hairspray!

I’d like to explore other characters because I wasn’t a human in this play.

A murder mystery or a comedy.

A musical! I like singing.

A 24-hour show where the audience interacts with the cast.

I’m a big sci-fi fan, so something to do with Star Trek or something like that. It could be on a spaceship with costumes and...what would an alien look like?

A murder mystery comedy.

A murder mystery comedy musical!

A murder mystery comedy musical where Charlotte plays a parrot…in space!