No Assumptions, Please!

No Assumptions, Please!

Back home!

Angela_writing_for ODs_1

 

 

Hi everyone, I have just finished a weekend of drama, filming and performances! The last time I did something like this was all the way back in 2019 and I can’t believe that it has been so long.

This year as part of the first year degree course in Performing Arts at MCAST we worked on a performance called Love and Information. Working towards this performance was a great experience  and the best part was that I got to be with my friends.  I had missed being with them because I did online lectures from January to April because of Covid. Another highlight for me was the fact that although I  was there just for the experience, I got to be in many of the scenes.

I started helping out with this performance in April when we were going into the Institute of Creative Arts campus in Mosta. Then during production week we moved into the main campus in Paola so it really feels like we have been working on the production for a life time.
Because we ended up spending a lot of time together it helped flourish our friendships and make them stronger and in the end we were like one big family.  The performance also gave us the opportunity to make friends  with the students from the year below us who were in charge of the technical aspects of the production like the light and sound. We would all spend long hours talking and fooling around.

Love and Information is a show written by Carol Churchill. The play is about how we as humans interact with each other in our day to day lives along with the many relationships that we have. Some of the scenes that we had were audio visuals, dialogues, monologues as well as silhouettes and movements. One of the scenes which I did was called ‘The Child who didn’t know fear’, where together with a friend of mine we put together a dance which was according to my strengths and what I am able to do because I got a hamstring injury last year.  The other scene which was also in silhouette was called ‘Torture’ where I was the person who had to sit on a chair and struggle to break free. A main scene where I had lines was the ‘Child who didn’t know sorry’. In that scene I had two lines ‘I’m not sorry!’ and ‘I do not feel sorry’ which became my two favourite lines and on the day I decided to stamp my foot for more effect!

Looking back now I would say that I really needed last week because of all the memories, laughter and friendships along with revealing new things about ourselves to each other and most importantly the fact that every day I would be looking forward to go into rehearsals.  Even though we had to be there from 10 am to 6 pm on the last two days, it was definitely worth it because I even got to be   with my friends on a day to day basis which is how I want to spend my time. In the end most of the memories which we have made together were either in the theatre, or on stage and backstage and those are the ones which I will always remember.

Even though there was high tension during the dress rehearsals on Thursday and on Friday we managed to breathe and pull through. While we were doing the dress rehearsals there was a lot of shouting from the director’s end on projecting our voices, where we were meant to be on stage and positions, especially when it came to the light cues and the video projections.

My Saturday was full of performing. In the morning I first attended rehearsals for the show and left a bit early to go to Valletta to film my part of the performance I was doing with Opening Doors for the CRPD Webinar on Parenting with Disabilities. As we have been working towards it with our group leaders online I also got the opportunity to meet them face to face. The concept of this performance took the shape of phone calls like what we are doing these days with Zoom and it was called ‘Call me’.  So in the end I even I got to be in front of a camera, which is another one of my passions next to performing on stage.

Filming was really fun especially as I was first thoroughly made up by a make up artist and while I sitting there I was going over my lines with the director. When it came to the actual shooting it didn’t even take too long and the hype of doing it in front of the camera was simple great. I was later told by everyone who was watching me perform that it went really well.

In the evening I went back to MCAST Paola where we were preparing for Opening Night and getting into the zone so that we would be focused and knew what we were doing. Even though there were a few mistakes along the way the performance went really well and it was great being back on stage performing to an actual live audience. Hearing the applause at the end was the best.

When Sunday came around, I don’t think that anyone wanted the performance to come to an end. In the end we were not looking at the sheet with the scenes even though there were about 25 short scenes. This is because as it was our second day doing the performance we were confident enough to do it without looking at the sheet as we all knew the order. The performance was a hit! Not only did the audience love it but also we loved it, I think even more than they did. On both days some of my friends came to watch me. After the performance was finished on Sunday we could have spent an eternity backstage as we were all hugging each other and having one huge group hug. When we went out back to the theatre we had group photos with everyone who helped the production to happen. I would say that this weekend was the best one ever, in a long time. Especially as I had filming with Opening Doors and the first performance in the evening on Saturday. It was great being back home doing what I love the most. Being able to perform without a mask on stage and in front of the camera made it even better. It reminded me of the reason why I love performing arts so much, be it on stage or in front of a camera. It’s because that is where I feel at home.