This week, our wonderful Year 9 students and Drama Department put on the OHS annual summer show with a stunning performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We spoke to some of the students involved to find out more about their experiences of being part of this production.
From Voula:
‘Being a part of the cast of this year’s Year 9 production was something that I really wanted to do. After a week of stress preparing for my audition, I was ecstatic when I read the cast list and saw that I had been assigned the role of Demetrius, and even more so when I realised that I would be acting alongside some of my closest friends.
All of the cast and crew got along really well as we were all friends, which made the whole backstage experience as awesome as the on-stage experience. The jokes that we all came up with made off-stage rehearsal time enjoyable and something that I will truly miss. In terms of the actual performances, from the first time I saw them, I became obsessed with the microphones – I am not exactly sure why – but, of course, I also really enjoyed acting with everyone else. Everything about the play was perfect, from the set to the costumes and the people involved. Today, I went to our set for the last time and it really made me sad that we would never perform on it again. It was a wonderful time!’
From Maria:
‘Honestly, playing two very different parts was a lot more fun than I expected – despite the insanely quick costume changes! Playing the Duke of Athens, a figure of authority in the world of the play, and a fairy, a figure of magic, provides a nice illustration of the world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which magic and reality coexist and often interact. To perform the parts, I had to wield what would be called ‘real’ power, I guess, and to wield magical power too. It was interesting to explore the backgrounds of my characters, and to see how they symbolised certain trademarks of the Ancient Athenian world. Learning the lines was a challenge, granted, but I think we all got there in the end, and we had some really great times with the cast and crew backstage and during rehearsals, such as a stand-up comedy routine from Oberon, Hamilton from Theseus and Hermia and a rendition of Let It Go by the whole cast and crew!’
