After the Applause - Back to Work!
The first performance of any Community Drama group or Theatre Company brings with it a huge range of emotional diversity. The most enjoyable and positive results are, naturally, the applause for the finished production, and the cementing of the unity your developing drama group members feel towards one another. And "last" nights, always bring the parallel emotions of proud happiness that the run is over, and sadness that it has come to an end. But it is really just the begining
The post-production meeting is the first real time you will all be able to get together, cast and crew alike, to discuss feelings, problems, and positive results, discovered during your production and performance. In terms of the development of your drama group and yourself as Drama Worker/Director, this is an important meeting and it should be held after every final performance, the lessons learned being vital.
For some members, there may also have been some painful and surprising experiences, and they must be wholeheartedly supported, for there is no failure in Community Drama, only learning, and what they have felt, we all feel. Each must be thanked and commended for meeting the demands made of them, because all have given the best they could according to their individual abilities.
At the other end of the scale, you may discover some inflated egos in your group! They will be thanked and complimented too, but it should be remembered that it is the group as a whole that is the "star".
Once the useful comments and lessons learned have been noted by the Drama Worker/Director, and the Stage Manager's "book" is filed on the shelf, it's back to regular drama workshops to continue developing your drama group.
A good workshop now, and one that should be included regularly in your sessions, is a workshop on words. Having just learned the dialogue required for your first play, you will have discovered that the important point about the words was not "what" was said, but "how" it was said, that made the difference. It is worthwhile exploring that aspect by collecting and creating examples of short sentences for use in your workshops, like the following one by Alan Maley:-
The Taxes of Sin
First Sentence: NO ONE KNOWS THE WOMAN I LOVE
THE WOMAN KNOWS I LOVE NO ONE
I LOVE NO ONE THE WOMAN KNOWS
THE WOMAN KNOWS NO ONE I LOVE
NO ONE KNOWS I LOVE THE WOMAN
I LOVE THE WOMAN NO ONE KNOWS
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