Caucasian Chalk Circle Drama Production

The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a production that was written by Bertolt Brecht. My school adapted it and performed it as its yearly production. There were about 50 people part of this production, and that included me. We had to play more than one role sometimes as we were short of people, but even then, we had a wonderful time filled with learning and understanding.

The rehearsals took us four months and this was the first time I had ever done a play with a script. Particularly for me, it was a very important experience because it helped me explore a completely different form of theatre. I was very uncomfortable with learning lines and repeating them as I had always done improvisational theatre where I devised my work with a group of people. I pushed myself outside my comfort zone, and learnt to understand how to recognize when I need to start speaking and how to make it as real as possible while repeating lines I learnt a hundred times. I found it very difficult to match exact actions to the lines and make it believable. I found this to be completely different to improvisational theatre. In improvisational theatre, I would first imagine myself as the character and make lines and actions based on that. Here, I was given the lines, and I had to get into character to make it believable. It wasn't possible for me to divert from the lines given because my fellow actors took their cues from my lines.

I actually learnt that the delivery is never to the character next to you but to audience and this was a difficult concept for me to grasp because, surely, we need to be delivering to the character to make it look real? I realized that this obstructs the volume of our voice and alienates the audience to what is happening on stage.

There was a time in the performance where one of my fellow actors missed their cue and everyone in the scene had to improvise around this, and this, again, was a learning curve for me as this was my first time.

While this drama production helped me learn a lot, it also required huge amounts of time commitment which is when I learnt to let go next year and decided to focus on studies. 

Bookaholics

The one reason I chose Bookaholics was because I really loved reading books and the new worlds they offered me. Bookaholics gave me a chance to experience these worlds, especially because I did not get time to read books nowadays.

Bookaholics did just that. We read a book every week, and then reviewed it in class, sharing what we thought was the best part about the book, and which part will stick with us. It was a lot of fun, and such a change because it just wasn't like a typical Literature lesson where we were analyzing the text, instead we were just sharing our emotions that were instigated through the text. That was a happy change, and helped me continue reading as my hobby.

I was a little hesitant in the beginning, asking myself if I would like the books assigned, or if I would be interested and free enough to read all of them on time. Well, I couldn't get enough time to finish all my books on time, and sometimes, I didn't get time to even start a book. I think, one of the biggest hindrance was that we usually had soft copies of the books, and, as I don't like ebooks, I ended up forgetting about the book.

One of my main regrets with this activity is that I was not able to complete reading some books. These were some great books, and I just didn't have the time to complete them. For example, a book we had to read was The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was a very intriguing book, and I wanted to keep on reading. But, we just had a week to read it, and I did not find time to read it fast enough to finish it before the reviewing session.

One book I really loved reading was Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. It was about two Mexican boys living in the United States. They both were quite reserved, and when they met, they instantly caught on. The book talked about their life together, and the differences they faced. It talked about all the challenges they faced together and apart, and how it all worked out in the end. This was such an intriguing book, and I hit it off with the book from the very beginning. I felt the same emotions the boys did, and imagined myself in their place. I was happy when they were, and sad when they were. It was difficult for me to stop reading and focus on the different tasks. Through the whole term, I was so happy I was there to read this last book because it just affected my life in that little way some books seem to.

Another book that was also so intriguing, and hypnotizing was The Handmaid's Tale. It was quite a mix. It was set in the future, with the elements of the past. There were no details given in the book, and the reader just figured everything out as he/she kept on reading. It was, again, one of the best books I have read and I am so happy I did. The story, the plot, it just opens new doors for my imagination, and that is a huge thing for me. These books have touched me in a way others have not.

Bookaholics was truly a learning experience. 

Badminton Competitive - Saturday

Badminton is a sport I like playing and would want to pursue as a hobby into my adult years. I also had the necessary skills required to sign up for the school team, which I did. Badminton is more of an individual sport than a team sport, and collaborating with people in this sport is a difficulty. The only way people really help you in badminton is when they practice with you and can point out your mistakes to you.

I played badminton through the term, and strove to attend all the classes offered. Early on, I got selected as part of the school team, and was required to come for all the practice sessions offered. Training and practicing to compete with other schools for the first time, I realized the amount of effort and commitment it takes to become good enough to come out victorious. One really important thing I realized being part of the school team was, wherever I go, there is always going to be someone better than me.

When I first joined, my goal was to win the inter-school tournament this year, as a school. Unfortunately, that didn't happen because of various reasons, a major one being unpreparedness. Even after working quite hard to get our desired results, it was a humongous task beating the other teams. And, one thing that really put me off all along, was that people didn't turn up for training but they wanted to play in the matches. That was very frustrating and mildly irritating. I was not the captain of the team, but I knew I wouldn't be pleased if I was. I think, people just wanted to keep everyone in the team happy, but, when it comes to a school team, and the question is about winning or losing a game or tournament, keeping people happy should be the last thing on someone's mind.

I lacked at playing a good single's game and a few kind of shots (smashes and cross dribble). I realized this weakness of being a good single's player only after joining the school team and knowing that I still was not good enough to play a single's game. Thus, thereafter, I worked on improving on a single's game, and be reactive during a doubles' game. One major thing I learnt about my badminton skills were how much practice I needed to be in the game and get good enough. Another thing I noticed was that all my shots got better with regular practice, but became rusty the minute my practice sessions decreased. Thus, I made it a point to attend every practice session, and work on my weaknesses.

Badminton has been good to me. And, I hope to continue this sport for the next two terms, and next year too.