Teen Talk 3: My Last Drama Class
By: Cindy Kim
I’ve just attended my last official IGSCE drama class. A two year course is behind me and all there’s left is the official examination. I’m more than a bit apprehensive, but I’ve been preparing for this moment for such a long time it seems surreal that this long awaited date has finally come.
I feel as prepared as I’m ever going to get; which isn’t much, but my teacher taught us well. Admittedly, sometimes our drama lessons felt more like English lessons, dissecting our pre-release exam material line by line, cutting from stage direction to set design, peeling apart the historical context to find the beast of directorial concept lurking below, but I’d like to say I enjoyed this aspect almost as much as the practical work.
It seems somewhat ridiculous to think that I teared up slightly at the end, not because of the impending exams, but because I didn’t want to see an era end. I remember first choosing to do drama because it was fun, I was competent, and I was a bit of a ninny. I was terribly intimidated at first because I assumed everyone else who chose drama was incredibly talented and gifted, and I’d never be able to keep up. This impression only lasted until the first unit, where I realized that I couldn’t be more wrong. Even though I wasn’t as good at Drama as I thought, even though improvising performances turned out to be the most potentially embarrassing task in the world, I still think it’s one of the few good decisions I’ve made in my life.
Anyone with even the vaguest interest in drama should bloody well take it; if not for IB, then definitely for IGCSE. But there are some people who took it because they either didn’t know what else to pick, or thought it’d be easy. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Any actor would say their performances are greased by tears and sweat, and more tears and sweat. Yes, the examiners wouldn’t really notice or care if you completely rewrite the plot of your devised piece against the group consensus in the exam, but the course isn’t easy if you don’t care about it.
I’d like to say I’m more confident than I was two years ago. Not because I can act like I am; anyone can push their chest out, talk louder, keep a straight body posture. I’m more self-confident because I’ve done far more embarrassing things on camera with a mostly straight face, and witnessed many more. If I can get through a video of myself digging a trench with an invisible shovel or pretending to get hit by an invisible bomb, I doubt much could faze me at this point.
I have had some of my happiest memories during drama. We’ve all laughed ourselves sick at each other, cried fake tears and complained about homework together and just about everything else in between. I hoard these memories like gold, because the feeling of pulling off that monologue perfectly or the proudness by association you have when a friend does amazingly well - I’ll remember these for a long, long time.
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