I have been doing drama since I came to the International Stream in Year 7 and have enjoyed it tremendously through these years. I can easily say that it is my favorite subject. Other than the fact that it has helped me release my stress and provided another way for me to express myself, I am starting to notice that it has brought me so many other benefits which I am going to list below.
- Depths of analysis
One of the first things that struck me when I first started studying drama was how we can use our bodies, movement, facial expressions and voice to create different effects in different ways. For example, changing the distance between characters on a stage will immediately change the way an audience reads the scene. Drama, to me, therefore, is the study of the human form and the relationships and emotions that go along with it. All of this is a text which can be read by an audience. It’s fascinating to be able to see how playwrights can make an entire audience think and feel in exactly the same way just like manipulating their characters on stage. When you add setting such as scenery and props, it seems anything can be achieved. Just imagine back in the days of ancient Greece, a tempest being brought to life on stage without the aid of electricity or movie projections! Imagine too, portraying Helen of Troy, alone on stage, in the depths of despair just through her movements and voice!
- Problem-solving
Especially in IGCSE drama, I am constantly encountering problems, whether I am devising a piece, bringing a scene to life from a script, or just improvising. Drama has taught me to identify whatever is preventing the scene from working, coming up with a creative solution to solve the problem and try it out. For example, when I can’t understand a character’s tone or body language, I raise the problem and I discuss it with my classmates to come up with the best solution possible. This can obviously be applied to so many other fields in life.
- Co-operation and teamwork
I barely ever work alone in drama; I’m always in a group. This forces me to make decisions with other people and compromise to create a piece that everyone is satisfied with. I also need to proactively contribute to discussions and decide when to lead the group or follow someone else’s idea. Again, this is a useful skill that is incredibly valued.
- Language proficiency
I always recommend people who have trouble communicating their thoughts to try theatre. In improvisation especially, you get to explore different characters with different levels of vocabulary, so you learn how to portray each one with a different standard of the language you’re speaking. This really enriches your linguistic capacities. Over the summer, I attended a week-long intensive theatre camp in France. When I went in at first, I wasn’t very confident with my French, but after just a week of drama, I finished the camp having considerably improved my level of French and speaking the language a lot more fluently.
- Controlling my energy
Personally, I am a very energetic person with a lot of enthusiasm. Sometimes, this means I get very agitated and hyperactive. Because of the different characters I have to play, I learn to restrain the amount of energy I give off to accurately depict the character.
- Building self-confidence
This is the main reason I like performing in general – whether that’s acting, dancing or singing. Being on stage brings out a side to people that others don’t see a lot. That feeling of achievement after having performed your piece and hearing the audience’s applause is one-of-a-kind. Sure, you get a little stage-fright and feel nervous but it’s all worth it; the pride of having done it boosts your self-confidence in ways nothing else can. I think that’s the most special and magical part of drama.
Interview of Mr Leonard Whiting
A professional actor, Mr. Leonard Whiting, came to our school recently and I had the chance to interview him; this is what he had to say about drama.
Q: What have you noticed is different between what younger people are doing now vs. what you were doing at our age?
A: They are more willing to do exploratory ways of approaching Shakespeare. We saw some really interesting starts today of Romeo and Juliet earlier today, which is the narration that takes place before the play starts. They incorporated with it dancing movements and everything; it was a really original thing to do.
Q: How did you start off in the industry?
A: Well, I started off as a singer. When I was young, I played the lead in a Walt Disney movie, which was way before I did Romeo and Juliet. Before Romeo and Juliet, I had done about four years in theatre, and I decided then that was the thing I wanted to do. I came up to my exam time and it was a choice between doing exams and trying to become a movie star, so I decided to become a movie star.
Q: Why did you choose acting instead of singing?
A: Romeo and Juliet made much more of an impact in terms of making me famous. People didn’t know me as a singer back then but subsequently, I’ve played many lead roles in musicals and I still enjoy music. Music is really my first love.
Q: After receiving the Golden Globe Award for Romeo and Juliet, have your friends and family treated you differently?
A: I think so, in a way. It’s a human thing for people to love success and hate failure, you know? So if you’re from my kind of family, which is working-class, with no money, and you find yourself in a situation where you become famous, people think you have much more than you really have got. They want to be your friend possibly more than they did before.
Q: Other than that, how has your life changed?
A: It’s made me more ambitious to fulfill other areas of art that I’d like to become a master of. For example, I’ve always stayed in the plastic arts and acting. I love to paint, I love to write music and I love to go to the theatre, whether that’s opera or ballet.
Q: Who do you hold as an inspiration and why?
A: Jean Cocteau. I saw that if you are in charge of something, you need to do it, artistically, the way you want to do it. He also had a great love for beauty. I think the world can be so ugly and horrible, so why can’t you enjoy something that’s beautiful whether that’s a person or a piece of music?
Q: Lastly, do you have any advice to young aspiring actors?
A: It’s a difficult business. You shouldn’t be put off by the fact that you’re going to face a lot of rejection at the beginning, but you should just keep going. Be resilient.
Audrey Year 10