DRAMA // THE GREEN ROOM
Joining Pocklington School as Head of Drama in September , presented some immediate , challenging decisions on how to offer a meaningful , safe , Covid-compliant and high-quality co-curricular drama provision for the Senior School .
Initially , we had thought to produce a play which we could live stream to the community from the Tom Stoppard Theatre ; however , having watched an awful lot of digital theatre during these past months , it is clear to me that one essential ingredient of the live experience is too essential to miss , which is you : our audience . Without an audience watching actors and designers produce something live at a specific time , in a particular place , theatre cannot exist in its truest sense . Even a live stream cannot belie the conspicuous absence of an audience . So , we realigned our thinking about how best to produce good drama while providing a rich experience for the pupils , and decided to produce a film .
The first thing to say about the project is it was never meant to be a linear narrative . Those expecting a story will have been disappointed . Instead , we played to the constraints of the situation and to our own strengths and abilities , embraced the unknown , and decided to film a series of extracts which all , in some way , speak to the frustrations and challenges we have all faced recently . In their own way , these excerpts of award-winning writing pay tribute not only to the work of the ten , brilliant playwrights ’ work , but to the countless actors , designers , producers and directors up and down the country who have been looking at deserted seats in empty theatres . They have been forced to wait for this to pass , prevented from going on stage . Instead , stuck , perpetually waiting backstage in the metaphorical Green Room . And that is where the title of this piece came from .
Filmed in three strictly discrete bubbles , rigorously separated and sanitised , its success is in its respect for the individuality of each segment . Although these are brief extracts , fleeting moments and excerpts , every group of actors , producers and designers have applied immense care , attention , commitment , detail and ambition to make each of them a respectful testament , a love letter even , to the theatre . We wanted the empty Tom Stoppard Theatre to play its own role in this piece – yearning , aching as it is , for an audience . Taking the extracts out of their original context and filming them in the backstage areas of the theatre itself : the dressing rooms , the fly tower , the winch room , the lighting box , the gantries , the workshop , and in the empty auditorium itself , hopefully , gives the audience a sense at how much the theatre needs them back .
I am mightily proud of everybody involved . The vision , commitment , bravery and creativity has been exceptional . It was fiendishly difficult to advertise , audition , cast , rehearse , design , shoot and edit all these segments over three separate bubbles , and with patience at a premium , the whole company should be extremely proud of this production . The piece of work is a searing beam of positive energy , blazing through the darkness of the past few months , emerging victorious as a unique , dynamic and defiant Senior School Drama Production 2020 .
Adam J . N Lea Head of Drama
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