“I think the Exam Show is the most important production of the year, and certainly the one where even I feel the pre-show butterflies”…
Unlike any other show in the Artz calendar, there is a price to pay for getting things wrong, and this certainly adds to the pressure for our performers. There is a sense of expectation created by last year’s outstanding results, but also a great sense of “we are all in this together”.
With this production, I genuinely feel that I am taking the exam with each of our students, and that we have a shared responsibility for the outcome. However, this tension creates excitement, it focusses us more on what we need to do; and I am really looking forward to watching this year’s Artz RSL cohorts rise to the challenge.
I have really enjoyed working with this year’s exam cohort; and, having learned a lot myself from last year’s experience, I felt much better placed to guide the students through this year’s programme. This year, our students have also benefitted hugely from the input of Joe Howard, who achieved 100% at RSL Grade 8 last year; an experience which he has used wisely to help support this brilliant young cast.
No Lights. No Costumes. No Make-Up.
It is worth noting, that the decision to remove the usual theatrical “frills” from our Exam Show, is a choice that we have made, and not one that came from the RSL Exam Board. Performers can often be guilty of hiding behind elaborate costumes, detailed lighting scapes and layers of stage make up, and with the Exam Show I wanted to create a very different atmosphere; one which exposes but celebrates the performers themselves, their skills and their art. By taking away all of these luxuries the performers begin to learn to focus on themselves. This “stripped back” style makes the actors vulnerable, which creates an interesting spectacle for the audience.
“I wanted to make the audience think, I wanted to remind them that they were watching theatre and not real life.” – Bertolt Brecht
Since January, we have spent a lot of our exam preparation time exploring and discussing varying theatre styles, and the work of differing practitioners with our exam students; in particular the work of Bertolt Brecht. With this in mind, the style of this production allows our audiences to think a little more than usual; they must use their imaginations to ‘join the dots’ and ‘fill in the gaps’, and they are reminded that as freely as the actors change their situation, they too have the power to do the same. I believe this is the reason why many of our audience members really enjoy this format of production, and not because they enjoy watching the students suffer under a lot of extra pressure.
This year, each of our exam students have been on a different journey, working to very different levels, and although it may be a common cliche; all we have asked with this production, is that our students hold their heads up and do their best. They have all worked really hard, and their attitude has been exceptional. I am already proud of their achievements, and I am confident that at the end of the process they will all have a nice cherry to put on the top of their theatrical cake!