Annie Production

On December 6th and 7th it was time to perform Annie.We got dressed had our makeup and hair done, I think putting on costumes is one of the fun things to enjoy and embrace in a production. I liked the feeling of getting pampered. I was not as nervous but while we were getting dressed and putting on makeup I felt butterflies in my stomach, I was just thinking whether this was a good thing or not. Then after everyone got dressed and had their hair and makeup done we had a group meeting. Luckily Mrs. Morris told us that we should be nervous, because everything you've been working so hard for is being performed infront of an audience for the first time, when you're nervous all your energy comes out and everything you say and do is projected better. Before the performance I went up to my group the mansion chorus and just told them all the little tips not to forget, such as smiling and facial expressions work together as a team etc just to give some encouragement. As the show began I just tried my best to be positive and just knew that we didn't just do all this work for nothing and now it's time to show the audience what we are made of and what a spectacular show we are going to put on. I was up in scene one, going behind the curtains I could see how many people there were I started to get scared but I didn't want to dissapoint myself and everyone just because I was nervous. My newspaper character was up first, I waited for Yashoda to finish her lines and then I went on and did mine, with so many people I tried to project my voice as loud as possible and was smiling my biggest. I then saw my parents and wanted to do them proud so I held my head up high and did my part. I strolled through the audience offering newspapers, at times it was awkward when people looked at me and didn't know whether to take it or not, but I just did my best and smiled. Afterwards I had to change quickly into my second costume which was the dress for the mansion chorus. I waited for the curtains to close, and because I had a sense of how big the audience was I was not as shy anymore. I stood behind the curtain frozen, as it opened I had my note book and wrote down some notes since I was a busy bee, Drake and Mrs. Pugh we were all close discussing things for Warbucks arrival. I wore a floral dress with an apron and black ballet shoes and my hair was in a bun. When it came to the dancing we were all synchronized and on time, I was more positive I think we did a great job since before we were always practicing in our groups trying to revise the moves making it right. What I thought was thought-provoking was to remember all the little details that I had to do such as turning on the pillar lights when it's Christmas, setting up the table, getting the presents and bring on the champagne glasses. The scene I liked most was the Christmas scene because I liked how everyone was full of joy and very cheerful, it even felt so realistic that it seemed like Christmas already. At first the Christmas scene was the hardest for the mansion chorus to do since we had problems with bringing on the Christmas tree it kept leaning or the decorations kept falling off. But in the actual production we pulled through and the most important part was working as a team, because when preparing an even things will go wrong and the audience would think it's part of the act for the servants to quickly fix things. In this scene I was standing with all my friend servants at a cocktail table improvising, while Annie's parents came to visit, it was tough improvising and not spectating the play. But we had to act as if we were busy talking with each other so we won't get distracted. The first day of the production the audience was much more lively and there were more adults meaning they laughed more and got the small jokes, which made us feel good. However the second day I thought our energy was not as good since the audience people this time were mostly children with adults, so they didn't laugh as much, but Mrs. Morris said we looked more natural and that to her it was perceived better. To me it felt like since we already had one performance the second time we would know what to expect. I enjoyed how the play ended with a song, it's a memorable moment for the audience to remember us by, when singing or dancing. I strived to keep my facial expressions bouncy and energetic. I was really proud of everyone and we made a big success. After the productions I just kept on getting good compliments from people and teachers which was a great sign and made me feel incredible. I learned a lot from this experience and hope to do it again in the future.