The Orange Tree Theatre recruited over forty non-professional performers to enliven the Three Pigeons pub with a spirited collection of local drinkers aged 18-76. The four different companies, each named after a leading figure of eighteenth-century theatre, have rehearsed in evenings and at weekends before combining with the professional company for final rehearsals and performances.
We asked Narinder Dosanjh, member of Team Woffington and our Friday Company Community group, to give us an insight into her experience as part of the She Stoops To Conquer Community Ensemble and what it’s like performing on the OT stage.
“As an Indian youngster growing up in the West End of Glasgow I was surrounded by, and fascinated by, the process of storytelling and how stories are brought alive.
After completing a Masters in Creative Writing later in life whilst raising my own family and attempting to write a play myself, the natural course of family life took me in a different direction for over a decade and storytelling left my life. That was, until recently, when Lady Luck landed on my lap, and I was offered a chance to be involved with the Orange Tree Adult Community Group which allows people like me an avenue to be involved in Theatre and storytelling.
The ‘call to audition’ emails for ‘She Stoops To Conquer’ lay largely ignored in my inbox as I was in the midst of managing a period of ill-health (yet again) but Lady Luck insisted and brought Francesca Ellis, the OT Community Director, to one of the Adult Community Group sessions. The rest, as they say, is history and I found myself part of the ensemble and in the full swing of rehearsals.
The rehearsal process itself was a revelation. I had imagined that much work went into a production like this, but in reality, my imagination was not even close. The meticulous attention to detail given to every aspect of the production from costumes to accents, to pace of delivery of lines, musicality of the songs and how to deliver them was a (very pleasant) learning curve. Who knew that one could learn to sing, physically move around the stage and transition furniture and furnishing whilst listening out for cues all at the same time? And whilst I was learning to do all of the above, another level of learning was going on at the same time. The process of building the scene with my fellow ensemble members and the professional actors involved was nothing short of inspiring. I have observed much from my ‘learned friends’ in the ensemble and am grateful for their generosity in sharing their expertise and experience with a novice like myself.
Which brings me nicely onto what I shall take away from this process and that is meeting people from walks of life that I may not have crossed paths with of a norm and the newfound connectedness and camaraderie that this has allowed around our shared passion for theatre and storytelling. The fact that this storytelling takes place in a ‘theatre in the round’ has made this experience extra special as one feels nightly that one is being enveloped by the embrace of the audiences at the Orange Tree and leaves this novice buzzing yet warm and cosy on the walk back home.“
by Narinder Dosanjh
