Is an intra-school arts competition held at my school “FOUNTAINHEAD”. Students across grade 7 to 12 participate in different categories under their selected art form. I participated in the Monologue category under the art DRAMA. The event took place on 27th August 2018 and the registration had begun on 17th August. AS drama classes are held once a week so my name was registered but I was yet to finalize the script that I would be performing which made me panic. Till the time (21st August) I decided my script with the assistance of my teachers I was felt with one weeks time to perform. I managed to put together the performance and secure the first position in my category but there was a lot of learning.
LO 1: Deadlines make me panic and as I was running very late from all the deadlines I missed the run through of the event which took place on 25th. I was allowed to perform as my script was pre-approved. This panic made me restless and preparing for my monologue became difficult so I started with making a list of things that were necessary to do. My to-do list helped me take out half an hour daily to memorize the script. I conveniently remember things if I write it and then recite the same, which is why I did the same the very day my script was approved so that I could gear up. This event has made me learned how important it is to be on time with my tasks and that deadlines, when missed, can lead to missing out on opportunities. I will continue to make the to-do list for my activities so that I can on task.
LO 2: I have participated in monologue events since Grade 8 though there was a gap of one year after the 8th standard I kept myself connected to performing drama and staying engaged in theater-related activities. Though I have a long term experience and skills to perform monologues it was challenging to this particular script. The script is adapted from Prabhat Kumar Mukharji and is named “Devi”. Devi is the character of a Bengali married women who’s father in law believes she is the goddess, Kali. Previously I have performed scripts that belonged to the comedy genre and this was was a serious act. It required me to step out of my comfort zone and hence the challenge increases. It was already challenging as I had less time to prepare and the difficulty level increased due to the genre of the monologue. To overcome the challenge I watched videos of different female artists performing a serious plot to understand body language and voice modulation. Along with this strategy I sought extra help from our drama faculty and practiced after school hours.
LO 4: It is was not easy to demonstrate commitment towards the preparation of my monologue as the days were running out of my hands and there was a lot of academic pressure due as it was the beginning phase of Grade 11 and I was still adjusting. I had to be resistant for the remaining days as if I would have not shown commitment it would have not yielded me the winner’s position. It is important to focus on the task at hand and be determined for completing activities with efficiency.