Abingdonian 2017

10 The Abingdonian Treasure Island When we started rehearsing the play we did an exercise to help us with our pirate accents. Then, the next lesson saw us getting our parts and reading through the scripts assigning lines to the chorus. Then after that, we began rehearsing it physically on the floor of the drama studio which led up to rehearsing on the Amey Theatre stage two weeks before the show. During the rehearsals we evaluated the scenes we had already blocked and occasionally we went back over the show up to the scenes we had just blocked. My part was Long John Silver, one of the main roles and I had to practise walking with a limp on a crutch. Performing in the Amey Theatre with the whole cast was fun. At first we split off into separate groups but eventually (two weeks before the show) we put the different parts together and we had the basic outline of the play. After we had got the basic idea of how the play would go, we added in props such as tankards, swords (not used until the dress rehearsal) and for me, a crutch. We then ran through the play multiple times until we had the lines and movement perfected. Some scenes however needed a lot more work than others. For example the fight scene where the pirates, led by Long John Silver, were fighting the sailors, led by Captain Smollet (Ethan Tully). When we performed in the Amey Theatre, we had to project our voice much more than in the Studio as this was a bigger space. As well as this we had music to speak over which made it harder for the audience to hear us if we didn’t project our voices. Sometimes Mr McDonnell would sit on the back row so that we had to make him hear us. It worked! Two rehearsals before the performances saw us meet together at lunch break in the Drama Studio and we sat down in our own space and, without scripts, recited our lines. Before the performances, we had to get into a personal space and relax and calm down so that our energy would be stored up for the play when we would give it 150%. Sir wanted us to feel exhausted after the shows! The award for best performance was probably Eoin Chippendale acting as Old Blind Pew. It must have been really hard not to look at Alfred Morley (Jim) and the audience for that matter! But I think the biggest credit has to go to Mr McDonnell, Miss Bond, Mr Lloyd and the tech crew for making it possible. Thank you! Avery Trotter, 2CALM Avery Trotter