Step On Stage Productions - Being in the youth theatre

Youth Theatre - A Christmas Carol 2019-2020
​By Jessica Jenner

​Being in a Christmas Carol was exciting, fun and just a great experience. This was my second production with Step on stage and every year they get better and better.  

We started rehearsals back in September when we found out our parts and received the script. I got the part of Mrs Cratchit and a narrator and I was so excited to start. 

During October, November and December, we were rehearsing and learning our lines. I loved rehearsals because we would start with a warmup game to get our energy up. After, we would sing around the piano and then start blocking and going over and over scenes! It was very tiring and a lot of hard work but by the end of December the difference from October when we started was amazing. By December, I was getting more and more excited and all I wanted to do was get up onto the stage and perform! During the Christmas break, all I could think about was the shows. I was ecstatic!

It was now show week in January and the shows were in about a week. This was my 2nd production with Step On Stage so I had experienced show week before and, believe me, it’s amazing. The whole experience of, not just performing, but also behind the scenes and looking after the younger kids in the cast and building the set - everything is just incredible. We had full days of rehearsals and I loved it!

The first couple of days of show week, we weren’t allowed in the actual theatre because the parents and teachers were building the set. Mine and my friends parents were helping build the set which meant that after rehearsals we went and helped. It was a lot of hard work but the set looked brilliant once it was finished. I think that was the point that we all realised that the shows were about to happen! ​

The next days were the technical rehearsals and dress rehearsals. By this point we were so excited but we knew that we had to concentrate because the tech was very important as it was all the sound and lights. The costumes were also amazing! My mum and my friends mum were helping to do the costumes and they turned out really good! There were LOTS of costumes and costume changes during the show for some people as they were playing many parts and they were getting quite worried and stressed but it was fine in the end. It was quite stressful for our teachers as they had lots of work to do but, in the end, it was worth all the stress. The first time we did a run through of the whole show with lights,  sounds and costumes it was amazing because we could really see the difference between December and now. The whole cast and teachers were just so happy with the outcome and were so excited to start the shows!

The shows were amazing. The first show was on Thursday and during the school day all I could think about was finishing school and going to the theatre for the shows. As soon as I arrived at the theatre it was kicking in that the shows were starting. When everyone arrived, we played a few warmup games and then went and put on our costumes and did our hair and makeup. We were all really nervous but excited at the same time. We still couldn’t believe we were about to do the show. We had a smaller audience on the Thursday so we were slightly less nervous but still really excited! We could hear the audience coming in and we just wanted to start the show. 

After we finished the first show we were so happy and just couldn’t wait for the next shows! 

The Friday and Saturday shows were even better! We had a sold out show on Friday and two shows on Saturday. 
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We were all just like a big family and working together to put on the best shows we could. I’m just so happy that I have had the opportunity to do things like this with my best friends and I am so excited for the next years because this is what I love doing and it makes it even better when you have the best teachers and friends doing it with you. I made the best memories that will stay with me forever and I am excited for the future!