By Dinah van Bavel
You might have started noticing that it is winter, which, of course, means it is time for THEATRA’s Christmas performances! Unless you’ve been walking around with your head in your ass, you have by now noticed the posters, flyers, bake sale goodies, and daily ticket sales for the amazing Christmas plays we are performing this Wednesday at De Spot! And, unless you are one of those people that only enjoys taking candy from children and ripping up posters (don’t be that person), you are as excited to see the performances as the actors are to show them to you! Don’t have your ticket yet? WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE GO GO GOOO!!
Of course, it is not only fun and games when it comes to the Christmas performances. Every year, our actors work their asses off to make sure you have the best possible experience watching, and every year it shows. This year we will finally lift the veil a little on the ins and outs of this year’s THEATRA productions! So grab your coffees and hold onto your pants, it is time to dive into THEATRA life.
As everyone with a Facebook account knows, every year we ask the students of this school to send in their plays and musicals, and every year, the student body overwhelms us with the amount of talent and amazingness they send our way. Picking only three scripts is always a struggle, but it is one we endure and fight so we can give the UCR student body the best performances possible (but for real, kudos to all scriptwriters, you guys talented as hell and we love you).
That being said, the real heroes of the plays are our amazing and awesome actors. Much like the saying ‘clothes make the man’, it is definitely the actors that make the play. This year, our actors seem to have been working overtime to make these plays the best possible plays they can be, and it shows! The energy runs high, and so do the notes during the musical: there is no stopping our Sherlockians when it comes to shining on the stage. Whether you play policeman #3 or the great Sherlock himself, there has been no moment of peace for our singing divas. What started as rehearsals on Tuesday quickly turned into rehearsals on Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, a few off Thursdays, and also during showers, cooking, and bathroom breaks!
Not that the other actors find a break to rest their voices – play rehearsals are not complete without actors screaming their lines as loud as they can, and preferably the right lines as well. Yes, I will give you the exclusive: even THEATRA members make mistakes (and often it has to do with remembering their lines). But a stumble, bumble, and mumble here and there is nothing compared to the energy and enthusiasm our actors bring to every rehearsal, play, and game. Just step into the room during a rehearsal and you’ll see the wild stepping of this year’s strippers, with moves one can only dream of. Or break in to break into tears – there is never enough drama in Winter’s Tale, and the actors bring it and bring it well. And, of course, no rehearsal is complete without our director Naala in the corner, screaming to ‘FEEEEEEEEEEEL’ – something our actors never hesitate to do and, when necessary, do dramatically.
So take a Wednesday break and come down to De Spot for the event you do NOT want to miss! There will be dance! Songs! Tears! Drama! Donuts! In short, everything you need to make three amazing plays – and actors that will do these performances justice! So be there or be square xoxo
All images courtesy of THEATRA.
Dinah van Bavel is a 3rd semester student majoring in Literature and Reliogion from Tilburg, the Netherlands.
