Written by Maria and Tessa, Year 10
DNA opens after a group of teenagers have unintentionally murdered the victim of their bullying, Adam (played by Tessa). Its narrative takes place through the eyes of many different characters — in Mark (Tilly) and Jan’s (Sophie) hurried conversations, in the talkative Leah’s (Maria) faltering relationship with the silent and seemingly uncaring Phil (Maya), in the complex power dynamics between school bully John Tate (Oriana), his followers Danny (Alex), Lou (Mia), and his potential rivals, Richard (Polly) and the violent and disturbed Cathy (Sidra) and her power over the heavily medicated Brian (Noraca) and the story culminates in a heartbreaking finale as their stories become intertwined.
Despite the odds, our team managed to rehearse almost every week even through strike days, the pandemic seizing several of our cast (reading in for multiple people is an experience we never want to repeat, and we’re eternally grateful for members of the tech crew stepping in) and last-minute costume malfunctions. Although the play was dark, we all enjoyed our parts immensely and had a lot of fun playing them. The atmosphere was very supportive and I couldn’t imagine a kinder, talented or more hardworking team of fellow actors – or a better set of inside jokes to have made along the way. (#ThreeReferencesForDentalCollege – is…is this true, by the way? Did anyone actually check this?)
We never could have got through the rehearsals or the performances without the amazing tech team (Lirit on lighting and Hera on sound), and we owe our sanity (and our show) to our stage managers Eris and Zed , who were truly the calm in the middle of a storm of missed cues and misplaced waffles. The team worked incredibly hard to make sure the show was a success, and we appreciate all the effort they put into it, from filling a suitcase with books so Maria did not have to pretend that she dropped suitcases everyday (which she doesn’t, by the way) to the bloodstained costume that probably traumatised the half of OHS who happened to spot Tessa walking around in it (she would like to, once again, apologise for this).
Despite our best intentions, pre-performance nerves (once we had returned from Summertown) got to all of us. Backstage, one of us was struggling with a hairbrush, another was looking at a packet of Skittles with something resembling distaste and there was definitely someone muttering frantically about bonobos in the corner. Beyond the slightly exuberant and overly caffeinated atmosphere of the changing rooms upstairs, in which much Biology revision was attempted but only some actually took place, there was silence and the occasional desperate whispers of “you haven’t, you know, you haven’t, you know, you haven’t” and “dead, what, he’s dead, like dead, not living dead”. Underneath the blue backstage light there were eleven of us and two surprisingly calm stage managers attempting to corral us into the wings in time for our entrances (which came thick and fast, once the play began). Hot under the stage lights and eyes sliding unbidden to the audience, we couldn’t help but panic when we messed up – except when we could. Even in the face of hilarious mishaps that included (but were not limited to) upended Skittles, crashing suitcases and missed entrances, we kept on going through the whole play. It was amazing to feel the teamwork and support that ran through the whole cast and crew whatever happened onstage. Nobody would laugh or disapprove of mistakes and there was always someone ready to run through whispered lines backstage – and thanks to this camaraderie, we were able to relax into the now familiar jigsaw puzzle of cues and cutoffs and put on the best performance we had to offer!
And finally, a shout-out to Mr Pelling, who put up with us for all the time it took to put on our show, and Mr Hay, who organised the technical side seamlessly. We are so grateful for all your hard work and support.
“I’m so proud of what we managed to pull off even with all the setbacks we faced. It’s been such an incredible experience to work alongside some of the most talented people in the year and I am so grateful for all your support. Thank you for everything.” – Tessa
“It was such an enriching experience to work with a cast and crew overflowing with such talent and I’m so so so so proud of all of us and of what we’ve achieved. Thank you to everyone for fantastic and hilarious rehearsals and two wonderful performance nights!” – Maria
Thank you so much to the whole DNA team and congratulations to everyone for a brilliant performance!