“Theater is the art of looking at ourselves”. During this trip to Stratford, students interested in theater could see real live performances of well-known plays at the Annual Stratford Festival. The plays allowed the students to get a taste for all aspects of theater including the performances from the actors and the roles of sound technicians, light technicians, and directors.

 

First, the trip began with my favorite play, Something Rotten!, which starts with two playwright brothers, Nigel and Nick Bottom, growing tired of living in the shadow of Shakespeare. After visiting a fortune teller, they predict Shakespeare’s biggest hit but argue over the title Hamlet or Omlet. The play focuses on the theme of: “good artists borrow, great artists steal”, showing how a single idea can drive an entire community crazy.  The play perfectly captured the essence of writing a play and packed a hilarious comedic spin to the creation of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays. In addition, the play also rewarded the audience for being interested in theater by making several other comedic references to other plays such as Annie or Cabaret.

 

The next day, we students got to look behind the scenes of Something Rotten by being able to help technicians make sound and lighting cues and even help rehearse some lines. I was particularly interested in the role of the sound technician and the pressure involved. To elaborate, the sound technician must listen to the rhythm of the play and memorize the tones of the actors so that they may adapt to any changes that could affect the musical's fluidity.

 

Known for its cinematic remake The Birdcage with Robin Williams, another play students went to watch was the infamous Cage Aux Folles. The plot follows the owner of a drag club whose son is getting married to a very conservative family. The drag owner and his husband thus must pretend to act conservatively to make a good first impression on the family.

 

However, the play wasn’t the only thing student’s got to experience as before watching it, students got to have a choreography session with some of the actors involved in the musical and learn some of the dances. At first, some other students and I felt a bit uncomfortable performing the dances, but as the lesson progressed, we learned to love and find the fun in it. Coincidentally, this experience we had related to the overall theme of the play which was: “accepting your truth and getting out of your comfort zone, no matter what anyone thinks”. After this play, I felt inspired by these actors to get out of my comfort zone and have fun, as it takes a lot of bravery to pursue their dreams in front of hundreds of people. 

 

Overall, the trip was an amazing experience and opened my eyes to the empowering effects of theater and its ability to invoke such powerful emotion in the audience when done correctly. If you are interested in theater, I strongly encourage you to go on this trip next year as it will not only shine a light on your perspective on what happens on stage but what happens behind the curtain as well.