Welcome!

If you have found this blog my I first say welcome to the PADS website!  Whilst we have been producing plays ever since the world wide web was launched and in fact going back to 1947, we have only had this website up and fully functional since March this year.  We are still in catch-up uploading pictures of past productions and archive pictures so keep coming back to the website for new updates.

Our aim is to provide a monthly blog of what we’ve been up to so here goes with a review of the fun times and experiences of performing in our last show reflecting on the life of an am dram performer.

Fete Worse Than Death.

It was our turn to put on a play since Blackham produced the very successful Port out Starboard Home by Richard James last October.  With this in mind the PADs committee contemplated what to perform and after reviewing a few plays decided upon another play by Mr. James that seemed to ring the right tone for our village with summer fast approaching.  We sent the word out that we were auditioning and eventually came up with 7 actors (Steve, Ann, Julius, Sarita, Stuart, Kate and myself) willing to take on the challenging lengthy script.  Rob Rees stepped up to the role of Director and Sue Hayward as Producer and Stage manager.

If you have never been a part of dram let me explain to you what it is like.  When you first land a role you have that excited feeling of spending a few months mixing with the cast having a laugh and doing something worthwhile that will entertain and give you something to look back on.  If you have never done it then it is something I would encourage everyone to do as there is no feeling like it.

You get your copy of the script which you read through, highlighting your lines and realizing what a lot you have to learn.  You then have your first rehearsal with your script and your director takes you through where to stand how to act and how to perform.  You start to read the script more and start self rehearsing at home, in the car, travelling to work or even in bed!  Slowly the words start sinking in and you have that good feeling start to grow.  After spending time with yourself rehearsing thinking you know it, sometimes this all goes to pot at the next rehearsal when the lines you been reeling off parrot fashion to the dog, the cat or the fish and even to passersby when you walk down the high street mumbling lines to yourself, fly out of your head!

The pressure build when you start seeing your fellow performers seeming to know their lines more than you, so you rehearse even more till the part semi takes you over.  You organize informal get togethers over wine and chocolate with the cast to go through lines without scripts and till you virtually become the character.  If the character has an accent then this can occasionally and sometimes embarrassingly slip into your normal days speech when talking to work colleagues your husband wife dog cat etc.

Then eventually the announcement is made that as of next week (around 3 to 4 weeks before first performance), no scripts on stage.  There is a part of you that goes wahoo! Whilst another part of you goes ….oh shit…..  However without this we wouldn’t be able to begin to act.  Our seasoned producer and am dram performer Sue continues to tell us you cannot act whilst holding a script!  And the thing is she’s absolutely right!  When we have learned the script we start to develop and polish the acting.  The lines are funny but without solid delivery and actions the laugh is only half as much as it can be.  So with a week or so to go were just about there.  Our prompt (the lovely Linda Weekes) is kept less busy and we are ready to go.  Then performance night looms….

You can stand on stage rehearsing as much as you like but there is nothing like the atmosphere of an audience to completely change the dynamics of the room.  Having performed quite a few plays now it is interesting to observe the different rituals, habits and nervous stages of the performers.  Some like a glass of wine to steady the nerves, some steer completely away from alcohol.  Everyone and I mean everyone is nervous.  For some this is very visible, for some it isn’t but the thought of walking on stage to a live audience that have paid money for you to entertain them brings a lump to everyone’s throat.  Everyone looks at their scripts again.  I don’t know why we do it as if we don’t know it by now we never will but it’s like a comfort blanket I guess.

Then the show starts.  Those behind stage judge the audience by the reaction to the first funny line.  If there is a roar of laughter we relax.  If there is stone cold silence we look at each other in horror!  Sometimes we wonder if they have gone home!  Nailing our first scene is important and relaxes you.  When you walk on stage we try not to look at the audience as a blank face staring back or perhaps waving at you is quite distracting.

There or two things we actors fear most firstly the white out and secondly the missed cue line.  The white out is when despite all the rehearsals, all the hours of learning the line that by now even your dog can recite back to you, just disappears from your head!  You look at the fellow cast members who look blankly at you knowing what’s happened until you hear the whisper of your line from the curtain and away you go again.  We’ve all had it, I’ve had it whilst singing a song and its not great.  The second fear is the missed cue line.  You see many of us learn our lines by listening our for the line from you fellow actor that cues yours.  It’s how we practice.  However when you fellow actor misses their cue line or says something else we can be back to pondering what to say. Sometimes you wonder if it’s your line at all as you don’t recognize the cue.  Sometimes the cue can be mucked up and taken from further along in the play in which case your robotic learning takes charge and you rattle on with your latter line as you your fellow actors and you finish the play 10 minutes early that scripted and the audience don’t notice!  All these happen and we try not to post mortem and have a good laugh about it afterwards.

Then it’s all over last performance is done and dusted, after show party is behind you and you say good bye to all your friends that you’ve got to know so well during the last three months.  All of a sudden you have your life back!  The character still stays with you for quite a few months and the odd anecdote still comes out and when you email your fellow actors you still tend to do so in character.  However there is still an empty feeling for a while.

And then the next show comes along sooner than you think and your off again…. Yipee!

More to come next month

Richard Lake