The Abingdonian 2019

65 www.abingdon.org.uk Summer Term Edinburgh Fringe In 2017 Mr Taylor commissioned Charly Clive and Ellen Robertson (St Helen’s old girls) to write a play for a group of Upper Sixth actors to take to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019. The play they wrote was called Contact Light and it was about the last party, a party to end all parties, before the dreaded A level results day. The main character was called Andie and she had a 13-year-old brother called Percy who was “on the spectrum and addicted to space.” Percy is annoyed because the party is the same night as the Perseids meteor shower that Andie normally watches with him. The play had lots of themes, including moving on, friendships, our place in space, and how riotous house parties can be. The auditions for the part of Percy were held in school at the beginning of the Summer Term and six of us tried out for the part. The wait over the next few days was extremely tense, but the feeling when I read Mr Taylor’s email offering me the part was second to none (although my sister said that I wouldn’t have to act as giving me the part of an annoying 13-year-old was just typecasting!). There were two main blocks of rehearsals - one week at the end of term and another week towards the end of the summer holiday, just before we headed to Edinburgh. I was quite nervous to begin with because everyone in the cast had been acting together for the past seven years and I did not know how, or if, I would fit in. Even by the end of the first rehearsal, however, I felt that I really was one of the cast. Rehearsals were very hard work but at the same time lots of fun. The feeling of going in to the rehearsal in the morning unsure about a scene and then leaving in the afternoon understanding it fully was incredibly satisfying. One of the most challenging parts of rehearsals, though, was learning the jig which came at the end of the play and had been choreographed for us by Charlotte King. Lots of people - including me - seemed to have not just two left feet but also an inability to move their arms at the same time as their legs. Somehow we managed to master it, and the run-through we did for parents just before leaving for Edinburgh (which, in a weird parallel with the play, took place on the eve of results day!) went smoothly. We were all very excited for our first performance in four days’ time. When we arrived in Edinburgh, the first thing we all noticed was the amazing atmosphere that you could only associate with the Fringe. Our venue was also absolutely incredible. It was called the Pianodrome and was made out of 50 recycled pianos. It also had a string-light sculpture that looked fantastic and was perfect for creating the right effect for the meteor shower scenes. Our first performance there was the technical rehearsal, which, in true Edinburgh spirit, ran from 10pm-1am on Sunday night. It was exhausting, but there was no time to be tired as the first of our six shows was due to start just hours later that day! From then on, my days fell into the pattern of flyering in the city during the morning and early afternoon with the other cast members (which was fun but tiring, as we walked for miles!) and then heading to the venue for the performance at 5pm. All the shows went really well and our audiences were very large compared to lots of other fringe shows. There were plenty of highlights to remember - the excited satisfaction of the first night; taking our bows at the end of each show; the moment when the theatre dog, Perro, walked onstage during the penultimate performance while the play was being filmed - and simply spending time with the cast. The last show was definitely our best, but by the end there was barely a dry eye in the house and it was very emotional backstage. That evening we all went out for dinner, then walked up Calton Hill which offered a memorable view of the city, the night sky – it was supposed to be the last night of the Perseid meteor shower, too! - and the fireworks bursting over Edinburgh Castle at the end of the nightly Tattoo. The next morning, we met for brunch. Saying goodbye to everyone was extremely hard. We all felt thrilled that the show had gone so well, but very sad that it had come to an end. I loved my time in Contact Light and will remember the experience and the people forever. I would now like to say thank you to some people who have helped over the last few months: Mr Taylor, Ms Watt, Mr Verjee, Mr Phillips, the backstage team at Abingdon, all of the people at the Pianodrome and all of the company. The experience was one of the most enjoyable of my life and has made me realise how much I want to continue acting. Rupert Mathieson, 1HFCP