Evening of One Acts: Through The Eyes of A Thespian
October 27, 2021
The Fine Arts Department hosted the first thespian performance of the year titled, “Evening of One Acts,” on Oct. 22-23, where our school’s theatrically inclined students exhibited their show-stopping talents. Their outstanding performance blows their crowds away, their gifts for acting shining through, yet it’s the drive in their hearts that truly make their shows worthwhile.
Senior and Vice President of the Thespian Honor Society, Amanda Charbonneau shared her experience as a thespian and what truly makes her get up on stage and perform for those watching.
“The best thing about performing is being able to make people feel: laugh, cry, or learn something new that they hadn’t realized before,” Charbonneau said. “I don’t think a lot of people realize how many hidden lessons plays have in them.”
Charbonneau joined theater at OLLA her freshman year, performing in various theater productions such as: Crayons, In Juliet’s Garden, Consolation, These Shining Lives, and Steel Magnolias, among others.
Yet, even in the midst of all these productions, Charbonneau finds that a piece of her still gets nervous before the start of the show.
“When I first joined theatre in freshman year, I assumed that after doing a couple shows, I wouldn’t be scared of going onstage. However, even still today, I get really nervous the day before and/or the day of the show,” Charbonneau said. “It’s nerve wracking but I love it so much that I don’t really care about the nerves.”
The nerves are not the only part Charbonneau has to worry about, as an experienced thespian, she is constantly preparing to make her performances ones to remember.
“We started preparing in early September. Rehearsals didn’t have exact set dates, at least for the senior show, because a lot of the time cast members would have conflicts on different days,” Charbonneau said. “However, the whole week before the show we would stay at school until 6:30 and the weekend before we spent 3-4 hours at school each day.”
But the preparations are worth it, as Charbonneau can’t find words to describe how she feels post-showtime.
“It’s almost hard to explain,” Charbonneau said. “Extremely happy of course, relieved, but mostly overwhelmingly proud. I always go up to my castmates after the show and congratulate them because I’m just so proud of everyone’s hard work.”
After the show, Charbonneau enjoys looking at the pictures her family and friends take of her, a moment in time of her happiest moments on stage.
“It’s like everyone on stage is in a whole different world,” Charbonneau said. “I remember seeing a picture of me bowing after Collywobbles, and I noticed I was practically glowing. Catching moments like that makes me realize how truly happy I am on the stage.”
The after-show bliss doesn’t end there, as Charbonneau utilizes these moments as the drive to keep her going for the performances to come. Charbonneau and her cast mates are soon going to prepare for the next production, Julius Caesar.
“We’re very excited because we haven’t done a Shakespearean play at OLLA in the years that any of our current students have been here,” Charbonneau said.
While we are looking forward to seeing the next thespian performance, in the meantime, the Tri-M Music Honor Society is hosting their fall musical, The Wizard of Oz, on Nov. 16-17th.
