Exploring "Out of the Wings"

This Friday, October 18th, 2013, maximum thirty Theatre students from every school in the Delta School District had the opportunity to participate in a full day of workshops held by professionals for actors, techies and writers at Delta Secondary School. Workshops ranged from Shakespeare to Improv Theatre to Acting Professionally for actors to topics for techies such as Sound Design, Lighting Projection and Scenic Design and even a class for beginners called So You Want To Be A Techie? Writers had the chance to take play writing classes taught by published playwrights, as well. Out of the Wings invited approximately fifteen professionals to teach these classes, including director, writer, actor and voice recorder Michael Coleman, who caused quite a stir after telling the students which animations and commercials he had recorded for. The classes were engaging and interesting, allowing the students to not only try certain techniques, but also understand what their workshop instructor's career truly entailed. Some workshops even went out of norms of Theatre by introducing Theatre outside the black box. Andy Thompson, owner of a company called The Virtual Stage, taught some students about his experience writing and directing a play called The Zombie Syndrome, an interactive play that took place on the streets of Vancouver. He is directing the sequel to the play, being presented for only two more weeks, called The Zombie Syndrome: On Death's Island. After three workshops, students paused for a lunch break and then continued with their fourth workshop. Though the food wasn't the greatest, it was evident the cafeteria was full of art geeks, with some actors breaking into songs from well-known musicals every few moments. The day ended at 3 pm with a question-answer with the remaining workshop instructors. It was amazing to see the passion the professionals had for their career, even after discussing the disadvantages faced, including their lack of a social life (due to long hours) and their stress of not knowing where their next paycheck would come from. Overall, it was an extremely meaningful experience for the students; one actress, Ria Mckenzie, saying it really changed her perspective of the acting business.

Aamenah Meghjee
Photo taken by Evie Lapalme

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