Becky with the final blog of our brilliant series...
I returned to Yew Tree towards the end of 2017 after being a member previously for around two years. Having left at a time of change to finish off my A levels, I came back to find most members of Gold company had left and been replaced by new people even though I’d only been away 8 months. It’s a strange feeling returning somewhere that feels half familiar and half unknown.
Of course, after just a few sessions, you can feel yourself getting back into the swing of things – with all the classic Yew Tree games that you didn’t even realise you missed, and the remaining members who you haven’t seen in such a long time. So, eventually, you begin to realise that although everything and everyone seems to have changed, it really isn’t as different as you initially thought.
To begin with, I have to say that Halloween was one of the highlights of 2017. Working with my fabulous fellow witches, we put together a highly condensed performance of ‘Macbeth’. Well, the Macbeth witches part of it anyway. It’s always great fun taking on a character so different from yourself, and being a witch is one of the finest examples of this. We only had a few rehearsals, but the action came together in the end, with the help of our matching witch costumes and “witchy” makeup. We had two rather immersive performances which consisted of everything from randomly taking hold of an audience member’s hand to inspect it for blood to screaming and falling to the floor. It was certainly a very full-on way to get back into Yew Tree after my break!
This year’s (or should I now say last year’s) performances also consisted of Gold company’s Christmas performance “Ella” – an adaptation of Cinderella and my very last Christmas show. Again, I was cast with a character very different from myself – the flirtatious and outgoing Lois, who at first I felt quite self-conscious playing. However, by the performance night, my character had changed so much and become so loud and dramatic that even I felt as if I no longer controlled her! One of the best elements of this particular show was the beautiful music that accompanied it – it really added another dimension to the whole performance. I must also mention the relationships that all the characters built up with one another over the weeks of rehearsals – by the time this show had ended I felt much more comfortable with the new members of Gold company.
Finally, I finished off my return to Yew Tree with a Festive Open Mic night. It’s probably been well over a year since I last performed in one of these, but I have to say everybody was as supportive as ever. Every act was greeted with a welcome round of applause, so even the most nervous of performers went on to do a brilliant performance.
Now I’m looking forward to what 2018 holds for Yew Tree. It’s going to be my last year with this theatre company, but I’m sure there is much excitement ahead still. For one, I plan on writing a performance myself for a group of actors – this should be great practise for my studying Creative Writing at university in September. And I guess for now I’d also better cherish every experience with Yew Tree, as time flies by so quickly.
Or at least 2017 did anyway.
I returned to Yew Tree towards the end of 2017 after being a member previously for around two years. Having left at a time of change to finish off my A levels, I came back to find most members of Gold company had left and been replaced by new people even though I’d only been away 8 months. It’s a strange feeling returning somewhere that feels half familiar and half unknown.
Of course, after just a few sessions, you can feel yourself getting back into the swing of things – with all the classic Yew Tree games that you didn’t even realise you missed, and the remaining members who you haven’t seen in such a long time. So, eventually, you begin to realise that although everything and everyone seems to have changed, it really isn’t as different as you initially thought.
To begin with, I have to say that Halloween was one of the highlights of 2017. Working with my fabulous fellow witches, we put together a highly condensed performance of ‘Macbeth’. Well, the Macbeth witches part of it anyway. It’s always great fun taking on a character so different from yourself, and being a witch is one of the finest examples of this. We only had a few rehearsals, but the action came together in the end, with the help of our matching witch costumes and “witchy” makeup. We had two rather immersive performances which consisted of everything from randomly taking hold of an audience member’s hand to inspect it for blood to screaming and falling to the floor. It was certainly a very full-on way to get back into Yew Tree after my break!
This year’s (or should I now say last year’s) performances also consisted of Gold company’s Christmas performance “Ella” – an adaptation of Cinderella and my very last Christmas show. Again, I was cast with a character very different from myself – the flirtatious and outgoing Lois, who at first I felt quite self-conscious playing. However, by the performance night, my character had changed so much and become so loud and dramatic that even I felt as if I no longer controlled her! One of the best elements of this particular show was the beautiful music that accompanied it – it really added another dimension to the whole performance. I must also mention the relationships that all the characters built up with one another over the weeks of rehearsals – by the time this show had ended I felt much more comfortable with the new members of Gold company.
Finally, I finished off my return to Yew Tree with a Festive Open Mic night. It’s probably been well over a year since I last performed in one of these, but I have to say everybody was as supportive as ever. Every act was greeted with a welcome round of applause, so even the most nervous of performers went on to do a brilliant performance.
Now I’m looking forward to what 2018 holds for Yew Tree. It’s going to be my last year with this theatre company, but I’m sure there is much excitement ahead still. For one, I plan on writing a performance myself for a group of actors – this should be great practise for my studying Creative Writing at university in September. And I guess for now I’d also better cherish every experience with Yew Tree, as time flies by so quickly.
Or at least 2017 did anyway.
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