Page 39 - PINE CREST 2005

a
rii

m J

: 1

associated with a different scene blared from the
soundbox. Two days to go, and people were running in
m and out, illnesses and problems and forgetfulness reeking
havoc on our actor attendance, food being ordered and
arriving two hours late, missing props and frustrated
Lights, camera, action—well, in a way. The lights were techies. But hell hath no fury like a director determined
glaring, and we had no use for a camera, but the action—that to 8et a P^ay running, and Mr. Patrick kept us on the right
was another story. Standing backstage peering through the semi- track. One day to go, and everything seemed almost in
transparent black curtains, watching Sophie smoke her cigarette P'ace’ idmost perfect, almost ready. But thcie was no more
and stare contemplatively off into space, I wailed for the time time to eradicate the almost. It s Thuisday night, and
we rc on.
to go on. Mr. Patrick had never really told me exactly when to we rc on-
go. I was to let Sophie have “the right” amount of lime onstage
||i|alone, and then, when I “felt it,” come on and watch her before
beginning my lines. So how much time is “the right” amount of
time? I certainly didn’t know. But Fall Play this year wasn’t
about perfect timing or exactly choreographed expressions.
^_A)nce the stage lights come up, once the house becomes quiet, *
it doesn’t matter what you had done in rehearsal, what had
happened in school, who had said what when and where. For
that twenty minute period on stage you are someone else,
someone whose life experiences and personal conflicts have
led them to this moment where everything has to become clear,
the truth has to come out. You are channeling another, and
whether or not you know the right time to speak is irrelevant. -
They know when they are ready to say what needs to be said. ^
All you have to do is open your mouth. It’s a crazy, almost V ' ^
otherworldly experience, and I loved every minute of it. *■;.
For those of you who weren’t able to attend or who % \ .
just don’t remember, Fall Play this year consisted of three one S f t
p act plays—”His Critical Condition” by Carl Williams, “Shoes "k
on the Highway” by Maureen Brady Johnson, and "Fin and ^ ^
Euba" by Audrey Cefaly. I participated in the latter along with “*
the illustrious Sophie Bakalar and our glorious co-director,
Raquel Perez. For weeks we rehearsed, isolated in Mr. Patrick’s W-
Middle School classroom, seeing and hearing nothing of the •
A few flubbed lines*and awkward pauses later,
oilier ,wo plays. Finally we were ready, b * we were only 1/3 of A l llb“ ‘"“f and .***— «, 1“ la,er'
l lie production. Who knew how our act would compare to the « «= * * • ™ t « C ’ugh- « « 8 " f < " D a m e
rest of the show, whether or not the three plays would even logethe,-every sg n e performed beaut,fully,
mesh coherently. When "hell week” arrived, everybody drifted enthustasne*. genuinely every prop and every cue
placed and executed without fail. Three nights of awesome
into the ICI for the first attempt a, a full run-through. Three paced and executed wathou, I a, I. Three nights of awesome
shows, three nigKFTbf FuoJfWe were even able to meet the
m . ,, shows, three msnfSoh^MWe were even able to meet the
® days and counting until opening night. ’. . , - , .. . .
p aywrmhts and hear-the backslones behind our plays.
playwrights and hear tjMbackstories behind our plays.
i a
u
,
r .
At first, complete chaos. We had not had many i J r-*m J
All in all, and exhilaratpg and challenging experience
, , ■ •th.ho.noitn.tve er, rinhi nff ihp hui All in all,-and exhilarat«g and challenging experience
rehearsals in the space with the tech guys, so light oil me nat '
never to be forgotten.,*^
lights were blinking randomly, cues were being missed, actors ncvei to ® 01 c'ol*en^3B
-Rachel Berko Wit/
were scrambling to remember lines as songs and noises “ ‘ltlc Cl °™,z
#