During the first week after our spring break, we had our extra-curricular week about theatre and acting. This text contains a summary and description of our main activities during this week and my thoughts about the week overall.
On Monday, we started with exercises to get a feeling for movement and space. We had to move around in unusual ways and different speeds. In another exercise we had to try to move in a group as one 'organism'. We also practiced observing our classmates and mirroring them. There were as well exercises about using our voices and portraying the emotions: happiness, fear, sadness and anger.
The next day was mainly about Irish music. First, we learned an Irish line dance with the whole class. Then, we sang 'In Dreams' from the movie 'Lord of the Rings' and the well-known song 'The Wellerman'. On the afternoon, we worked with quotes from Shakespeare. The goal was to learn about articulation and voice variation.
The following two days, we practiced acting and performing. On Wednesday we used scenes from Shakespeare and on Thursday we used scenes from Monty Python. We were divided into groups, with which we had to prepare the different scenes. Afterwards we could perform our scene in front of the other groups and watch them performing. We also had the opportunity to improvise a bit during these presentations. For some of the scenes we went outside, which gave a different atmosphere to them.
On the last day of the week, we first repeated some of the activities from Monday. Afterwards we practiced dancing and singing again. Then, we were allowed to choose our groups and invent our own sketch. On the afternoon, we finished preparing the sketches and then we presented them to the other groups.
Overall, I really liked that week. I learnt and experienced a lot of new things. Even though some of the activities felt a bit embarrassing to me, I learnt to leave my own comfort zone. I think, the exercises helped me being more confident and self-conscious while presenting something to a group of people. Most of the things we were taught during this week can be used in our everyday lives and not only in theatre. The activity I enjoyed the most were the sketches on Friday, because we could choose our own groups. I think all of us were more creative and participated more actively while working with people we know best. However, I understand that it is also important to learn how to work with people we are not that close with. Another thing I really enjoyed, was the dancing. Even though I am not really a good dancer, I had a lot of fun learning the Irish line dance.