My name is Addison Drumm, I am a junior, and I am interested in never doing a devised show again! On a more serious note, I enjoy singing, yearning, crying, and frolicking.
This is my first time taking One Act. I had wanted to be in it because I had seen past performances that were absolutely incredible. One Act is what I thought it would be, but it is also completely different. It’s what I thought it would be, as of the beginning of the year, but not of last year. At the beginning of the year, I knew this class would be way more stressful than usual since we decided on a devised piece.
I am an actor. I play a friend and Knowledge. The play is about Everyman, who represents all of humanity, coming to terms with their death. In the process of trying to evade Death, Everyman journeys to all parts of themself and reflects on their life. All of the thing that make Everyman themself want to go with them in death, but cannot. The only one who can live on is Good Deeds, who will live on in the memory of those who Everyman loved and cared for. I wrote the first full draft of the Everyman script, and we all kind of refined it from there. Everyone contributed greatly. I also created and help choreograph the Reflection scene.
On one of the audition days, we were auditioning different people for God/Janitor, and at the beginning, we play entrance music. Figg didn’t have the music pulled up, so every time someone would audition, everyone in the room would start singing the music. I think it’s the only part of the song anyone knows, though.
If I’m going to be completely honest, I am not too great at remembering. I can hardly remember what I ate for breakfast most days. Having a bad memory is super handy when it comes to theater. Ah, the love-hate relationship everyone has with theater. We create art with that annoyance and frustration, though, that is what it is all about. That is how “Everyman” came to be and how it was chosen to compete at Sectionals at Neenah High School on Saturday, November 9.
Before the day began, I was sleeping, as a human does (save for Matthew), and all was well in the world. Unfortunately, I woke up too early in fear of sleeping through my alarm–something I have done many a time. But a morning with more time is a morning with less stress, so I had a nice amount of time to get to school and get my hair and makeup done. I remember it feeling like 7PM even though it was the morning, jamming out with the rest of the cast while getting ready for a long and exciting day. Then, before we knew it, we embarked on our really lovely and tranquil bus ride because theater kids are really good at communicating at normal volume levels (Haha I wish).
For One Act Sectionals, I was expecting it to be similar to our District competition in terms of space and experience, but it was very different. I had expected a similar-sized school as Manitowoc, but Neenah was bigger. MUCH bigger. It is not real. It looks like a strip mall. In the lobby, I wasn’t sure how the theater space would be laid out and I was worried that the back would be a hallway like how it was at District or something wack was going on with the stage. To my surprise, everything was brand new and spacious. The wings were SO NICE. I had never been in wings with so much room before…ever. The front part of the stage jutted out a bit, but we adapted well by moving the lights down onto the apron part.
We were nervous about our time, diction, and overall just making it to State. We had heard that the performance we watched before us had failed to make it on, so that did not help our nerves. We started the show frazzled, but once we got into it we found our groove. I enjoyed the space off in the wings and I really appreciated how alive the audience was. The support from the other schools was amazing. It is so fun to feed off the audience’s energy. I never realized how funny some lines were until Sectionals (I guess Figg did write some pretty decent jokes *insert eye roll*).
We were the last show of the day and thankfully made it to State!! Disregarding our dance mess-up at the end, it was a pretty solid run. After the exciting news, we packed up all of our costumes and props and loaded onto another dark and super relaxing bus ride full of sleepy and calm theater kids (Haha I wish).
I think our show is in a really great spot. We just need to clean up the ending bit and continue running the show over and over. As long as we all keep being supportive and have fun with what we are doing, we will put on a great State performance. While I can’t remember simple things I eat in the morning or an occasional line, I’ll remember the feeling of being alive with energy this day. I’ll remember the nerves before the show, the drop in my stomach as my line flees my brain, the love for everyone as I watch from the wings, the stress for people quick changing, the panic as we miss our music cue, the relief of seeing that we will finish the show on time, and finally, the excitement of hearing that “Everyman” is going to State. I will remember that.
Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I don’t like most fruits.
What’s different this year about the One Act class?
It’s devised!!! Quite an experience, but I never want to do a devised piece again.
Tell us a random fact about yourself.
Act Out 