Ben Bartlett &
Christina Traister
For the past few months, senior students at Garden International
School Rayong have been working on three separate plays, which are fused
together through the theme of ‘waiting’ into a larger performance of Waiting
For You. Each play is a short comedy. However, each has a different style of
humour. The final product promises to be a spectacular night, brimming with
talent.
Many people turned up for the auditions, but due to the
small number of parts available, the directors had to make some tough
decisions. We were thrilled to be part of such a strong and eager cast.
Members of our production consist of a wide range of ages, nationalities,
and personalities.
One of the three plays featured in the night is “Out of
Control”. An uptight, hysterical foreigner finds himself trapped on a flight
heading towards the wrong country, and struggles to get into control of the
situation.
“Macbeth Mixed Up” is a comedic take on Shakespeare’s
“Macbeth”. One of the evil witches is missing, and the story goes awry as
the remaining two struggle to handle their replacement.
The final play is “Have a Seat, Please” which follows the
story of a teenage girl who goes through many obstacles to ask out a boy to
a school dance.
Each play will be performed in a separate location and
will be followed by reflections documenting our work from auditions to dress
rehearsal. Each stage is unique, reflecting the different atmospheres of the
plays. After the show the audience will be treated to wine and cheese whist
having an opportunity to view photos from rehearsals, talk to the cast and
other members of the audience.
The months we have spent working on this production have
been filled with hard work and perseverance. Strangely, a large proportion
of the cast are playing roles that are completely different to their
personalities. One of the more active, vibrant members of our cast, for
instance, plays a soft-spoken, calm and collected character. I myself play a
character who is ‘out of control’, and yet I never raise my voice. My
co-writer, Christina, has to speak a lot of her lines with her mouth open as
she is sitting on a dentist’s chair. The cast has taken this as a challenge:
one that has now been overcome.
Despite the difficulties encountered, such as script
learning and logistical problems, the work put towards the production has
been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Working in the plays has
strengthened the friendships between all of the cast members. One of the
highlights so far has been working on our voice projection. We recited our
plays normally, at completely opposite ends of our assembly hall, which was
hilarious: it lead to one of the characters saying she was feeling very
crowded – to a person more than 20 meters away.
The night will definitely be a memorable occasion for all
everyone involved. We look forward to seeing you there; the opening night
will be on March 30 at 6.30 p.m. If you are interested in the theatre, if
you are looking for something unusual, and if you enjoy a laugh, this is a
treat you don’t want to miss. The tickets are available from tickets@gardenrayong.com
and from the school library.
