DRAMA AND SPORT - 1946 VINTAGE The School Play One full-length play is produced every year at Christmas. The first production was for two public performances. We have since increased this number and a dress-rehearsal. So far, we have performed Pygmalion, The Importance of Being Earnest and Much Ado About Nothing. Suggestions for the play to be chosen are usually mooted in the preceding Summer Term. The children begin to way-lay the producer with suggestions or questions about what we are thinking of doing. We sometimes choose plays for the Literary Society readings with the idea of trying their possibilities as a school-play. The cast is chosen early in the Autumn Term. The producer (a member of staff) asks various pupils to try parts, asks for suggestions from the rest of the staff, particularly the English staff, and also tries anyone who asks to read a part. (Many pupils come at this early stage to offer help in other ways e.g. as stagehands or prompters). When making her final choice, the producer discusses the actors with the children who are present at the 'try-outs'. The producer has an assistant chosen from the pupils. He is present at every rehearsal and is responsible for keeping plans of the stage for the various scenes, for recording the positions of the actors, and for making notes of points to be dealt with in the actors' interpretation of their parts: he acts as general 'odd-job' man throughout the rehearsals and is invaluable as a link between actors and producer. Rehearsals take place every night, and after half-term, on Saturday mornings. They are frequent, since we aim at as high a standard as possible and the shortness of time between the beginning of rehearsals and the actual performances makes intensive work very necessary. Rehearsals provide much amusement as well as hard work and are carried on in a spirit of friendly co-operation and discussion. e.g. we frequently stop to discuss the character being interpreted and particular interpretations, every member of the cast and onlookers making suggestions or demonstrating. Frequently, pupils not in the cast come in and, after listening, offer comments. So, too, do ex-students. One or two younger pupils, interested in producing in class, ask to come in to see a rehearsal. Scene and screen-shifting are done by a group of boys and girls under the supervision of a Master, who acts as stage-manager. The Physics Master is responsible for lighting and he trains a group of Sixth Form boys for this work. The little carpentry we can have at present is done by volunteers working under the supervision of the Woodwork Master. The Art Mistress is responsible for whatever scenery we need and can get. Posters are done by pupils in the school and by an ex-student now at an Art School. Some pupils volunteer as prompters and call-boys and others, working under the supervision of a Master and Mistress, are responsible for the wardrobe. A Master is responsible for the business and financial arrangetnents and organises the seating in the Hall with the help of 'squads' of middle-school children, and upper school pupils act as stewards. Make-up is done by the Art Mistress, assisted by other members of the Staff. During the actual performances, I think it is true to say that, apart front the making-up, and the immediate supervision of the moving of the heavy screens by the stage-manager, all the essential tasks are performed by the pupils, the Staff concerned being present in case there is an emergency: their work of training has been done beforehand. In spite of having to improvise with many things and to borrow extensively, we try to make our performances something much more than improvisations and to reach a high standard. The children are conscious of this and are very self-critical at rehearsals. They gain, too, a spirit of co-operation and are really unselfish actors. Proof of their enjoymentm in spite of the hard work, is found in their desire to have some kind of re-union of all concerned in the production some time after the performance. Proceeds are devoted to building up a fund to provide very necessary stage equipment when it becomes available and to finance future productions. As we do not possess even curtains, there is much to be done. Some of our money has already been spent on improving the lighting: we bought for the last production one spot-light and two 'floods', spending about 30 altogether. We have some permanent records of the plays in a series of photographs taken mostly at dress-rehearsals by two members of the Staff. This year, a party from a neighbouring Secondary School watched the dress-rehearsal. Neighbouring Grammar Schools send parties to our performances, as we do to theirs. (Drama productions were directed by Miss Vale, one of the original five members of staff who spent part of the war years in Torquay until she left in the summer of 1946 to go back to Devon to take up a Headship. Miss Hornabrook was to leave to join her in Plymouth the following Christmas.) IMAGE When they were not themselves performing, as in Twelfth Night, the pupils and staff finally had a chance to arrange theatre trips which were to be a regular feature of the School's life to the present day and they took advantage of it and were off to see Ralph Richardson as the housekeeper in Ben Jonson's The Alchemist at the New Theatre Old Vic Company, and as Bergerac in the Old Vic production of Cyrano de Bergerac; and Edith Evans as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Piccadilly Theatre. Even Mr Withrington accompanied them to The Knight of the Burning Pestle performed by the London School Players of London University. When they were not on theatre trips Mr Johnson had them at exhibitions such ts the Royal Institute of British Architects Exhibition of Swiss Architecture; the Art Exhibition at Burlington House; or the Exhibition about British design, Britain Can Make It at the Victoria and Albert Museum. page 40