Acting at a main cast in Production... (it went well)

Destination: Wellington East Girls College

(names used in this blog are not their actual names for privacy reasons)

That one evening before Production...

I scour the crowd for any sign that my friends have arrived but with a disappointed sigh, I can't. What am I going to do without them here? But quite literally out of nowhere, I find Gabriela standing shyly in her beautiful cultural clothes. I'm not wearing mine, I'm wearing the clothes I'm using for my Drama act. I'll change into my cultural clothes later. 

Now here's the thing. The reason why she's wearing that to Production (a school show basically) is because there's a theme to tonight's performance: in our neighbourhood. Now you may be wondering, how does dressing up in your cultural clothes relate to the theme? To be honest, I don't know. But Matt, a teacher that leads the Kapahaka* group, and the Kapahaka instructor, Mehi had both thought it would be a great idea. 

*kapahaka is a traditional Maori performance art group that sings Maori songs

Huh. Guess teachers aren't always right.

But anyway, I try to greet Gabriela, but my parents pull me in their side to take pre-show photos (their normal routine), and I leave her with a hanging "Hi Gabriela" and an awkward wave.

Gosh, that was embarrassing. I look back to Gabriela and think to myself.

"Sophia, can you stand over there with Ninang?" Mum, camera in hand, instructs me. I do exactly so.

Ninang grabs the phone that Mum's holding and swaps photo-taking jobs.

And then a solo picture.

I thought that would've been the end of that, but Mum asks me to go outside to where the crowd is to take another batch of photos. I mentally sigh, but do it anyway.

Finally, once I'm done and dusted with the camera going "click" on my face, I ask Mum if I can talk to my friends, since I see that Nina's arrived and is now talking to Gabriela. She briefly says yes.

I rush to my friends and rant to them about how nervous I am, and this goes on for 5 minutes before I realise that I need to dress up into my cultural clothes. 

Entering a building with my friends behind me, I ask Sara, the principal, standing near the entrance. "Hi Sara. Can I change into my clothes now?" 

"Yes, of course you can."

I hurry over to the area where all the people are and pop my dress on over my tights and camisole. This is kinda awkward changing here... 

I check my watch. 20 minutes till the show starts. I'm getting real nervous now, with butterflies in my stomach, my mouth glued shut, the whole pre-show feelings package.

"Are you guys nervous?" I ask both my friends. My other friend is outside, Lana, talking to her older sister.

They both says a confident yes. I'm not the only who feels that way.

We chat for a little bit, until we are asked to form up into our lines for Kapahaka.

Before the performance, we had a game plan. Kapahaka will be the opening act, but just imagine this. The audience will be expecting that the curtains would open, and boom. Kapahaka performs. 

Except that's not exactly what will happen.

Outside the venue where they least expect it, we will enter the venue and walk in between the two rows of chairs and seats with the audience sat down on them, doing the act. The reactions? Pure gobsmacked.

And now, we're going into Step 1, going inside the venue. It's super packed, and how are we even supposed to swing our poi* around and the boys hit their rakau* with the enclosed space we're in?? 

*rakau are long poles that are sort of like stage props in a kapahaka performance. It's for the boys only.

*poi is like a garlic bulb but attached to it is a long piece of string, and girls use it only. It's another prop we use on stage

"I know it's squeezy, but it's good to practice here when we go on stage. It'll be squeezy there too." Matt says to the whole group of Kapahaka kids, then we go outside the venue not-so-quietly and everyone around us shushes whoever utters a word. 

We walk in the venue and in between the two rows of the audience. It's show time. 

The boys yell out their chant called a haka, where in the older days it was used to scare people with their eyes wide open and tongue sticking out. That's called a pukana.

The girls swing their poi and I accidentally keep on hitting Gabriela with my poi, but then again everyone keeps on hitting everyone with their poi, so it makes sense for me to do so. 

Once we're done with the haka and nearing the stage, we do another haka, which is a transitional one, and we all walk up to the stage just in a fast pace.

We perform another haka, and once we're done, the crowd cheers and applaud in amazement. 

We all did our job: to wow them. 

And it surely looked like they enjoyed it, because the amount of decibels from the applause and cheers were deafeningly high. 

The speakers introducing tonight's show walks up to the front and the curtains close for the rest of us, and like ants scattered everywhere, we head to the green room. 

The transitioning was kind of messy, but we actually did well.

"Should we change back into our normal clothes in the bathroom?" I ask Gabriela. Nina's changing back into hers, but it's packed. 

"Yeah, I think we should."

Without a moment's hesitation, Gabriela and I get going to the bathroom, our footsteps sounding even louder than before.

*

After cackling like maniacs in the bathroom, we head back to backstage, and enter the building where the performance is, to watch the little kids jump randomly into song.

Compared to the whole school run-throughs that were conducted, that actually took a shorter amount of time as I expected. 

Ranging from little kids saying their lines in a rap kind of way, and telling Maori stories, it was interesting to watch them in real time. So interesting...

The juniors finish their plays (Year 1-4s), and now this time it's the seniors (Year 5-8s) to start their acts. 

The person (teacher) in charge of Drama is Ryan, for Dance is Annie, for Music is Matt, and for Wearable Arts is Jess (yes the same teacher who was in charge for Artsplash).

"Drama people, green room." Ryan discreetly says to the Drama people.

We all hurried back. I think to myself, Wait. It's Music first, and Music is doing their act now, then after that...

It's Drama.

"You guys need to get back stage now."

That's an implication that we're going super soon. My heart is racing, but shockingly, I manage to ease my nerves.

Just pretend this is one of the rehearsals and there's definitely not 400 sets of eyes staring at you when you perform.

The Music group finishes with a catchy beat, and the room is full of deafening applause.

A deafening cue that we're beginning our act in a matter of seconds.

The curtains close, and in my designated spot, Frank passes me the mike between the curtains, since he's outside the curtains, and I'm on stage.

Josh (Harold) has the crocs that he needs for on stage.

Caitlyn (Rosa) has her mike.

I, Autumn (Sophia), have my mike.

Skyler (Nina) is in position.

Maya (Krystal) is in position.

We are ready.

Ryan discreetly tells us that I have to start saying my lines when the light is fully brightened. I nod curtly, and so does Skyler and Josh.

The curtains open and the lights get brighter until it's adjusted to a good setting.

Here goes nothing. Annoyed, I roll my eyes "Yes, Josh, for the fiftieth and last time, you do have to go for a walk and stay with us."

Whoa. I just said my first line. I wonder how I'll feel like when it's nearing the end.

*

I won't give you most of the lines, but I can tell you the story. This story is set in the 2400s, so basically in the future.

So here are the characters:

~ My role is Autumn, and I act as the easily-pissed-off-by-her-brother older sister. I (think I) have the most lines, and basically guide the whole cast. (a leader??)

~ Harold is Josh, and he's the annoying younger brother of Autumn, who does everything in his willpower to annoy the heck out of Autumn (she doesn't like it). He's a curious and care-free guy, but honestly, he just wants to stay at home and go on his holographic gaming set.

~ Nina is Skyler, and she's a sort of friend that tagged along between Autumn and Josh. I don't think Skyler is related to Autumn or Josh, not that I'm aware of. She's the type of person to try to smooth things over and help the cast in the story.

~ Rosa is Caitlyn. She is the loud and obnoxious one out of all of us, and although she gets on the cast's nerves at times, she's pretty oblivious of it all. All of the cast are too nice too say anything to her, except Josh, who doesn't really care about anything at all really.

~ And lastly, Krystal is Maya. She just tagged along with Caitlyn and I'd say she's also like Skyler, likes to please everybody and lighten the mood.

Just imagine, a hike with friends and family in nature, where there is no wifi, no devices, and nothing out of the ordinary. And Autumn is dragging along her little brat brother, Josh, to touch grass and also bringing along a family friend, Skyler. (everything I write from this point on is what happened on stage as well).

A: (frustrated): Yes, Josh, for the fiftieth and last time, you do have to go for a walk and stay with us.

J (whining): But why? Let me go home!

C: You know what your mum told you (mockingly a mum) "get off your holographic gaming set and go explore the real world."

They go on and argue about it until Caitlyn and Maya walk up to them, and they exchange greetings. Or at least everyone except Josh is. Caitlyn rubs Josh head affectionately, but Josh walks away. Caitlyn talks about how the place she chose for exploring was a place her cousin said that used to be a prison. Maya is confused because her older brother told her it used to be a school. Josh goes missing, and we go on this hunt to search for him, only to find him brushing away dirt of an ancient staircase, except he doesn't know that when you walk up them, it teleports you back in time way back in the 1800s to a territory of a prison.

If only if he knew.

Obliviously and insanely stupid, he walks up to them and has disappeared without a trace...

The four of us that remains follows him, and well...

BOOM! There's a loud crash and bang and lights are going crazy. They find themselves way back in the 1800s in the territory of a prison.

Caitlyn hears someone coming their way, and so the cast hides in a spot where they can't see them. Guards march up to an area, and prisoners are followed by them.

Guard 1 (they don't have names) (shouting): Prisoners, halt.

Guard 2: Tools down.

Guard 3: Sit down here, we will rest here for a few minutes before heading down to today's work.

Prisoner 1: What work is it today?

Guard 4: Finishing building the road from yesterday.

Prisoner 2: Not the roads again. It's so dirty down there.

Guard 2: Well, you should've thought of that before you committed a crime and ended up in this prison.

Prisoner 1 (grumbling): Crime? I took a loaf for my sister.

Guard 3: Still a crime. Just be grateful all you are doing is building a road. The last kid who stole a loaf of bread got 30 lashes of the whip.

Guard 1: Alright, enough chit chat. Let's get going, that road ain't gonna build itself.

Guard 4: Prisoners, stand up and march.

They walk out of their hiding place. Everyone is puzzled by the moments turn of events.

A: What was that? Guards, prisoners? Kids in jail? What's going on??

C: I told you my cousin told me there used to be a prison way back in the 1800s.

J (confused): But it's 2410...so that means...

M (shocked): We've travelled back in time!

S: Nonsense, we can't have, that's not possible.

A: But the stairs, when we walked up them we all knew something had happened.

M: We have to get out of here before someone sees us.

S: We have to get back to the stairs... and go down them instead of up.

But as they were discussing this, the guards catch them trespassing and they go on this wild goose chase. The guards are so desperate to catch them to the point where they grab Josh's shoe, until by pure luck, the guards run over to each other, giving them a chance to get back to the stairs, and therefore travel back to their original time.

A: Are we all here? Josh?

C: Yep.

S: I'm here.

M: Me too.

J: and me... But my shoe is gone!

(clearly Josh is the dumbest character. Autumn would say something like that)

C: Well, too bad we're not going back to get it.

S: Just be grateful you're not getting 30 lashes of the whip.

A: Let's go home... and maybe not tell Mum exactly what we got up to.

M: Agreed.

We walk either ends of the stage, the curtains close, and the crowd goes wild.

"We did it guys." I look at Nina and Harold proudly, and pat Harold's back.

"We did." Harold says.

This is the most movie thing to happen, but we all look at each other and smile. What a highlight. 

That's Production 2025, a memory to keep forever.

Thank you for reading! (see you next Saturday <3)