Building on the success of his entry to the Southern County Drama Festival last year, Upper Sixth Drama scholar Ethan Thorne is once again entering and starring in an original play at the festival at the Barn Theatre in Oxted.
This year’s play, titled ‘3 Birds 1 Stone’, has been written and directed by Ethan, and stars his fellow A Level Drama classmate Bailee as well as GCSE Drama student Joshua. Ahead of the festival in late February, the Trinity community has a chance to catch the play in the Mitre Theatre on Friday 13 February, for its first public dress rehearsal. Full details below.
The play is a ‘curious exploration of the human psyche’ and Ethan tells us about his inspiration for the concept below.
“I was inspired by a number of different things, namely the strange taste in the school water[!]. After filling up my water bottle, I thought ‘well, they could be putting anything in here!’ – so off I went! Moreover, the name of the facility the characters are stuck in is ‘Huxley Experimentation facility’, partially inspired by Aldous Huxley, the esteemed dystopian writer (very fitting considering the topic of my play), but also the Sir Julian Huxley Wetherspoons in Selsdon.
“The experience of having written/directed/produced and acting in my own play for the Southern Counties Drama Festival last year was brilliant and I’ve learned to take all criticism no matter how silly it sounds (last year I was criticised for my sleeves being too long). It was very daunting with it being the first time entering the festival and the first time putting on my own play, however I’m feeling a bit more confident about it all this year.
“I learned how involved putting on a production is which doesn’t get much easier with experience. Having to work on no budget with little staging, I’ve had to face similar problems, trying to figure out how to set the play in a visually appealing way. This year I decided to add to my workload, inspired by a Drama trip to see ‘A Mirror’ which had a live cello soundtrack, I decided to compose and perform an original soundtrack on the violin (although pre-recorded)!”
Ethan continues, “Many thanks to Miss Robinson for all her support, letting me use the rehearsal space and allowing us to host another public dress rehearsal.”
Ethan has also thought of a novel way to engage students, on Monday 3 February he will hide 60 mini drinking glasses around the school (see pic below) – if anyone can find the single cup that is ‘full’ and contacts Ethan, there’ll be a small prize.
There are several opportunities to watch the show:
Synopsis: Two men, Daniel and Jared wake up confused in a clinical, whitewashed room. They are faced with a dilemma; “drink or die”. The play follows Daniel and Jared as they try to reconcile their past mistakes, exploring the pressures of confinement and the desire to escape from an all-powerful, corrupt corporation who are willing to kidnap and kill to get what they want.
Thursday 13 February at 6.00pm – public dress rehearsal in The Mitre Theatre, running time 30 mins FREE. Tickets HERE
Thursday 20 and Friday 21 February at 7.00pm – performances at The Mitre Theatre Clubhouse, Lime Meadow Ave, South Croydon CR2 9AR, running time 2hrs (this will be performed together with the adult entry for the competition from The Mitre Players amateur theatre group) £10. Tickets HERE
Friday 28 February at 7.00pm – Festival performance at The Barn Theatre Oxted (nearly sold out) £12. Tickets HERE
Break a leg, Ethan!
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