Risk Taking

Risk: A situation that can involve exposure to danger. A situation that can, not will expose us to danger. Can and will are two very different words, and we often get that mixed up on stage. In theatre you have to take risks. They don’t always go as planned, but if we didn’t take risks, how would we tell the story? How could we build off of each other's ideas? At STC risk taking is one of the key ingredients to a great show.  We have to be comfortable with trying something that may not work. 

In rehearsal we play this game called the number game. Everyone sits in a circle, with their eyes closed, and we have to count as high as we can without two people saying a number at the same time as someone else, if someone does say a number at the same time as someone else then we have to start back at zero. This game often gets very stressful, but it wouldn’t get anywhere, unless people take a risk.

There are often long pauses of silence and no one wants to say a number, because they think someone else  will say that number at the same time as them, and if we didn’t take risks this silence would go on forever. Nobody wants to go see a show where nothing happens. That is exactly why we take risks, to make something happen. This is where we need to remember that we don’t always get exposed to danger, and when someone remembers that they count up another number.

 They may have successfully taken that risk, or someone may have said a number at the same time as them. But it’s ok if it doesn’t work, that’s how we fix it. Sometimes all it takes to spark an idea is a small mistake. So don’t be afraid to take a risk, because if it doesn’t go your way, it could create something even more beautiful than what you expected.

In the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe it’s especially important that we take risks. There are so many creatures that aren’t in our world, therefore we don’t know how they act, or what they’re like in general.  So we pretty much just have to get up on stage and try it. For instance, my character is Mother Christmas. Santa Clause isn’t a very uncommon character, but it’s a little harder for me because I’m a girl. I have to take everything I know about Santa and alter it to fit me. We also have creatures that some of us have never even heard of. Like Hags, Boggles and Spectres. The only resources we have are the stories that we've heard about them.  Our director recently gave us the privilege of a presentation giving us more information about our characters.  So now that we know about our characters, we have the challenge of figuring out how to portray them on stage. 

Looking back on the previous shows I done with STC I get to see how much I’ve grown, and I can honestly say that STC is one of the most amazing things that has happened in my life. If anyone is thinking about going out for a play, or going to a workshop, please do it, because you will be so happy you did. I’m so excited to be apart of more STC productions and I can’t wait until you can all come see The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Libby Gens

(Mother Christmas)