Performing with Less and Less Rehearsals - Children's Day and the Anti Drug Campaign

Who says you need to rehearse to be in a play?  JAJAJAJA!  (that's laughing in Spanish).







For Children's Day on September 9th, the theatre went on tour to perform "El Cemeterio de los Libros Olvidados."  We went to two elementary schools.  So, now I can say I have acted in an International Children's Theatre Tour, right?

The funny part is that I only had one rehearsal before performing.  I rehearsed with my friend, Ramona,... who helped me to summarize the meaning of chunks of lines so that I could improv within the chunks.  Then, I rehearsed for like 10 minutes with the other actor, Alexis.

I was still learning my lines in the van on the way to the school, but somehow I did it!  And the kids had so much fun :]  I just played big, interacted with the audience, and was as silly as possible.  Success.  Definitely improvising a script in Spanish was a big "reto."

Then, it got even crazier.  I showed up to an anti-drug event at a school where the vice president of Costa Rica had even come to talk.... and the theatre wanted me to join in the play they were about to perform.  No rehearsal!!!! I mean, I only had like 3 lines, but still.  We didn't end up performing, though, because one of the actors had to go to work because the event was taking so long.  That in itself is odd to me; they rehearsed for like two weeks only to not perform at the event.  No big deal.





We did perform that play, though, the next weekend for PANI (the child protective services).  I did perform then, still without rehearsing.

These experiences will definitely go on the list of things I never thought I would do.

Also, I think it's fun that Children's Day means a big party at school with dancing and a trampoline.  Note the trampoline in the back.  Both schools we went to had rented one for the day.