Grade 11 & 12 Production CAS Reflection (Creativity)

In the last week of November 2017, the high school production of Candide performed the play they have been working on for three and a half months prior. This production has a very strong place in my heart; I have had such a wonderful experience throughout the making of this production. I have gotten to know so many incredible talents and learnt so much about myself as a performer. Prior to auditioning for this production, I was extremely nervous. This was the first time I was ever in a production, and being surrounded by so many people I had looked up to for such a long time was very intimidating, a lot of the times I felt like I didn’t belong. But I think the excitement of being part of a cast helped me get over that fear I had.

I learnt a lot from everybody involved in the production, not only necessarily about acting but it also showed me how much we can achieve in such little time and such a small but dedicated cast. But most importantly, I learnt a lot about myself as a team member, how I learn from others and the skills I can offer to the table, how much directing, lighting, staging, costumes and make up play an impact in the overall product, how much hard work goes into characterising, and how important cast contribution is, and so much more.

LO #5

• Who did I collaborate with?
  • The entire cast. It ranged from contributing to ideas when it comes to blocking or directing, to sharing vocal and energy warm-ups, to watching each others’ characterisations and helping each other grow as performers. I also did a lot of work with the costumes director, Theresa, and the lighting director, Manuel.
• What made it easy or difficult to work together? What challenges did we face when working together? 
  • What made it easy was the fact that we all wanted to put our all and make this the best production we could possibly make. However, working together was also a challenge. There were clashing ideas from time to time, and people getting frustrated with any lack of progress. Of course there would be a few people who would occasionally forget to memorise lines and such, but apart from these, it was relatively easy to work with each other. Most of the time, we were very passionate and willing to listen to each others’ ideas.
• How did we overcome them?
  • There was a lot of communication involved, and a lot of patience too. When it came to disagreements in opinions, there was not too big of a challenge, because this was the approach everyone took. If the communication and articulation of the ideas were done right, most of the ideas would fit into the piece. Therefore, there would be only very little disagreements; for the most part, everyone was open-minded enough to appreciate everyone’s opinions. This sort of supportive and encouraging environment is something that I truly, truly miss to this day.
• Why couldn’t we overcome some challenges?
  • As some of the challenges were people not showing up to rehearsals on time, and this was very dependent on the individual. This was one challenge we couldn’t do anything about, except keep enforcing how much their actions were unfair towards those who showed up on time, but apart from that, there was nothing else that could be done.
• How important was collaboration to achieving the outcome or my goal? What could I do in future to be a more effective team player?
  • As I mentioned previously, absolutely important. If it wasn’t for collaborations with the cast, directors, stage managers, lighting and costume directors, and logistical managers, the production wouldn’t have been nearly as good given the amount of time we had. To further better my participation as a team member, I would have been more involved and vocal when it came to cast discussions and decisions, as well as taken some sort of initiative/leadership role by myself without being asked to; I feel like this would have helped our group dynamic as well as get things done a little faster.

Overall, this experience was one of the best I’ve ever been a part of, and I am truly grateful for what I was part of. I learnt and grew so much as a production member and as a collaborator, and I had the best time while doing so. I loved every second of the process, no matter how tiring and exhausting, and I can’t wait to do something like this again in the future.