Final Performance: You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown

Our final performance of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown was on last Saturday, March 31st. I think this was the most exciting production I've ever been in. While I've been doing Drama my whole life I think the Drama department is of a far higher standard than that in OSC and ACS. Because of this we were able to have more props, better costumes, lighting, stagehands, etc. I've never worked in such a large-scale production before, even The Fiddler on the Roof was smaller because our budget was not as large so we lacked the resources available here in Kenya. Since we had more resources here a lot more work went into this production. I found myself staying at school till 9 pm everyday for the last two weeks before opening night. I think this demonstrates my perseverance and commitment to theatre, as despite the long hours and stress, along with other schoolwork, I stayed committed and pulled off this performance. The photo above is from one of my solos titled Schroeder as I'm singing to Schroeder, imagining us getting married.
I don't sing often in front of crowds, my first time doing so was in The Fiddler on the Roof and I only had one duet and three solo lines. Here I had two solo songs, one duet and countless solo lines in other songs. This on its own was terrifying but to do it in a new school made it especially difficult but it allowed me to come out of my shell, develop new skills and undertake a new challenge. I have learned so much about singing in a musical and about theatre, as I've never worked with a directorial concept before. I think this is really important because it gives me more experience since I'm taking IB HL Theatre. I'm so glad I did this show because it really helped me to settle in here at ISK. A lot more people know me now and I really bonded with the people in the cast. Also this show helped me fulfill one of my New Year's Resolutions, which was to become actively involved in an extracurricular activity in Kenya. I'd say I was pretty actively involved as this production took up most of my time from January to March, a good three months.
I worked collaboratively with not only the cast but also with the stage crew, Ms. Hargreaves, Ms. Lillis and Mr. Liggon. I think this helped me increase my awareness about my strengths and areas of weakness, as I have a short temper and at times I let it get the best of me, particularly with the stage crew. I hope to improve this about myself in next year's production because I think it creates an awful dynamic backstage if the actors and stage crew don't get on. Additionally, in regards to weakness, I doubt I'll be doing another musical, because although this helped me build confidence I know my strong suit is acting. Many people complimented me on what a strong actor I was in this show and this increased my awareness about my strengths and to be honest, I really want to focus on acting.