I was standing right behind the front curtain, about to step onto the stage where many watching eyes would soon be examining me, when the entire side of my dress popped open. Panicked, I looked around for something to help, but there was no time. There were only a couple of lines before my entrance. Then, just as all hope was lost, Ruha Kim (12) stepped forward. She reached into her sleeve and, with a flourish, pulled out a single safety pin. She rushed to my side and pinned my dress back together right as I entered my scene. I don’t know why she had that safety pin; all I knew was that it was beautiful.
This is what I love most about drama: when people make mistakes or accidents happen, everyone works together to fix them. The cast and crew stop being our individual selves and instead come together as a cohesive unit to put on the best performance we can muster. The small mess-ups and mistakes are what make the show memorable, and the teamwork that springs from them is a truly inspiring thing to see.
Once Upon a Time and The Dark Castle both had their mess-ups. During the first play, Ashton’s ear fell off, and later he threw his body upon it to pick it up. Those of us watching from backstage clapped for him. Another instance was the bottle of Coke that Peter was supposed to drink from. He struggled to get it open onstage, which led to a drawn-out moment of him enjoying it, making that scene much better. Yejii’s scream when she cried out for her sisters made the audience laugh. In The Dark Castle, John’s “expert” juggling skills caused me and Aydan to have to improvise. Ashton even fell asleep on stage!
“The most confuddling experience I had this year was when I fell asleep on stage. My character was supposed to be sleeping, but I was actually sleeping. I was extremely discombobulated when John and the stage lights woke me up,” said Ashton Lim after the frightening experience. Luckily, his first reaction when he woke up was to say “What?”, which happened to be his actual line.
All of these experiences brought our cast together. If you happen to mess up and that adrenaline rush kicks in, there is no better feeling than having your peers around you to support you. Before we performed, we were quiet, tired, and nervous. By the end of it, people were hugging, crying, interlocking toes (yes, this did happen, and it was disgusting), and laughing.
John Pham speaks about his experience at the end of all three performances: “My favorite memory is the big, sweaty group hug we had at the very end together.”
By the end, we had all gathered into one big group, and, regardless of sweat, smudged makeup, costumes, or anything else, we shared a long group hug. It was a moving moment, full of tears, and it showed who we had become. Family.
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