Day one:
this was the most exciting part as I was being introduced to everyone. I felt
special and more than that I felt very welcomed. I went there in a week when
they will be celebrating their 200th episode, and they planned to
record this episode live. That is, they were going to do it live, raw and
unedited; there were no “cut, take two”. I was then introduced to all the
actors, who seemed very passionate about what they do. My special interest was
to see the studio arrangement, that is, how the props are arranged and mostly
how everything works. I was interested in this because as a person who will be
doing this for the first time, I needed to see it. I needed ideas for my own project and this
was the essence of my visit; to see how I’m going to go through the same
process with my actors as well.
The day was
filled with rehearsals because they wanted to make sure that they do not make
any mistakes when they record live. I was lucky enough to be given a script and
be part of the rehearsal. Strangely enough this was not difficult for me to do;
the only thing I had to do was to read the script over and over again in order
to sound as natural as possible. Being the ‘natural’ that I am, that was pretty
easy for me to do. By this I mean that as a person who’s able to read isiXhosa
fluently getting used to reading the script did not take me that long. So I can
say that being familiar with the language worked at my advantage.
More than that I
felt included; by taking part I gained understanding of how the actors read and
interpret their scripts. For instance, I learnt things like improvisation, that
as an actor you do not always have to stick word for word to the script but at
the same time do not improvise entirely because the gist will be lost I found
this very helpful because even though I will be the director for my own project
but at least I have gained understanding of how the acting must be done. However I am aware that different broadcasters
have different approaches to how they want things to be done, in some
environments, directors are pretty strict about sticking to the script- while
in others, a little bit of interpretation is expected.
What I am trying
to say is that being involved in this process has given me a sense of how, as a
director of the play, I need to manage my actors. All of this means that with
the knowledge that I have gained, I will be able to help my actors where
needed. I am willing to give them a bit of space to rephrase the script where
necessary. I have no doubt that this approach might very well strengthen my
script because they will add things that will enhance it. Moreover, they are
also isiXhosa speakers which means they are familiar with the language and the
phrasing.
Day two:
this was the second day of the rehearsal, and probably the busiest day of them
all. We were pushed hard because the live recording was going to be the next
day. I loved the experience. I felt like this is what I’m also going to go
through because I cannot deny the fact that the time I have to produce this drama
is limited. So this for me was great because I at least saw and experienced
working under pressure. We rehearsed the whole day until we all felt ready for
the following day.
Day three:
this was the day of the recording, all the actors came and they rehearsed.
Strangely enough, none of them were very nervous; in fact, they were relaxed.
It made me realize that they are professionals. This was the best day, watching
people do their thing live, the stings coming in, sound effects and spot
effects all in that moment. It was something truly beautiful to watch and be
part of. It was great, it was fun, it came with a lot of pressure but it came
out quite well. I was amazed. The actors left me wowed.
Day four: on
this day there were no rehearsals, Toffee the producer and Phumelela the
technical producer were editing and packaging episodes for the next two weeks
because they record in advance. So I watched as they do this. This was something that I am used to because
they also use Adobe Audition, which I’m familiar with. On this day I also had
an opportunity to meet with Phumzile Mnci the station manager, and he asked me about my experience and what I
have learnt in that week.
On that note,
let me say that I enjoyed this week; it was very refreshing. Now I can
confidently say that I will be able to produce my own drama with the knowledge
that I have gained. I appreciate and acknowledge the opportunity that I have
been given by both my lecturer, Jeanne du Toit and Toffee Zitshu of uMhlobo
Wenene FM. I came back from this visit inspired and ready to roll.
Look out for my
next update on the rehearsal process because we have started with the
rehearsals already.
Ciao!
