Hello my lovelies, I hope everyone is well, had a good Easter weekend, and is enjoying the beginning of spring. I am aware it has been a while since I updated you on my life and what has been going on. So much has happened since our last Coffee Chats experience, so I better crack on...
Firstly, I'm gonna talk about a few uni course bits and bobs. Firstly, I remember when I last was talking to you guys I mentioned our Approaches to Performance unit which has been done and dusted and we got our grades back. I got 63% which equals a 2:1, HURRAH! WAHEY! I'm so happy I done so well with the performance side as for ages I was worried all of the techniques and stuff weren't going into my brain and I felt like I didn't understand it. But then when we did a commentary mock in front of our lecturer, (don't get me wrong at this point my commentary wasn't that great), she said thing for me to consider for the real exam a week later, however she said "you're both doing really well in this unit" to myself and one of my other friends who was in my group for the unit. Which took a bit of weight of my shoulders that she could see I was doing well and progressing. After we'd done the real exam I felt so much better about everything and as you can see above, it paid off. I'm still waiting for the essay marks for this unit to come through to me, to see what I got overall. But fingers crossed I've passed the essay as well.
Secondly, the presentation, it went pretty well. Was pretty easy like I already said and I wasn't worried about it. I got 57% which equals a 2:2 and I'm happy with that. I feel much better now though as I've got out of the 3rd mark barrier as for my two assessments before these two that's all I kept getting, so I actually feel like I have progressed somewhat now.
Now, onto the most important part of the term that has just happened for me. After doing Rock of Ages with the Drama Society I fell in love with this musical which is why it is now my favourite of all time and favourite I've ever been in. And to quote my Instagram:
 |
"Well guys, it's official, Rock of Ages is over and I'm going to miss this show and this incredible cast immensely! We've worked our arses off for 6 weeks to put on this show and we had a few bumps along the road and a few hiccups during the first show night, but I wouldn't change a thing; I've loved every single minute and this musical is now officially my favourite ❤️🎠and of course how can I forget about my favourite role ever?! Getting to play Miss Regina (Regyna) has been incredible. She is 100% the best role I've ever got to play; the high praise and compliments I got after the shows was the icing on the cake and it means the world to know I did Regyna justice through my own way ❤️ can't thank @uocdramasoc enough for giving me the role 🙈 - we wouldn't have been able to do this amazing show without the talent in this amazing cast and the phenomenal work from the committee; Drama Soc has been such an amazing part of my first year at uni and it will continue to be part of my life for the next two years. Thank you for an amazing year guys, here's to next year."
This show genuinely was the best part of this term for me, even though as a society we went through hell and back to get it all perfect, even though the first night was rough with the technical side. It was worth every single minute and I'm already missing performing it with my crazy bunch. Drama Society is so special to me as it is the nicest and most talented cast I've ever been apart of - it's such a wonderful atmosphere and environment to spend roughly between 9-12 hours every week at. The friends I've made here and I'm so close to is what is so special about being in a show cast like this one. My passion for theatre, especially musicals will never leave my heart, for me they are the most enjoyable and entertaining shows to be apart of and I wouldn't change anything about Rock of Ages for the world.
Apart from all that, the main person I'm missing, is of course my homegirl, Regina, aka Regyna! She is hands down the most enjoyable, funniest, amazing, craziest, happiest, and lovable character I've ever gotten to play. She truly was a joy to portray and she is my favourite role ever; I will truly miss being her with all my heart.
But for me as a person, the greatest part about playing her was the high praise and amazing compliments I got from the audiences that came to watch. People said things like: you're amazing, you're so funny, you're energy is so high; it doesn't stop, you're a joy to watch, you were phenomenal, just "wow", so impressive, you're so talented.
I had one girl come up to me in the interval and she said, "Can I just say, you're like one of my favourites in this show, you're just absolutely amazing. Your energy is so high, how do you keep it up? I just, I love it" and that was so lovely of her to do, because she didn't have to say anything and it made me feel a bit emotional already but just so happy to know that I was doing a great job.
And as a performer when you get told all that it is just such a warm feeling because you know how hard you've worked and how much you love to do what you do and it was hands down the icing on the cake for me to hear all that. Just to know that I did Regyna justice through my own way makes me feel insanely proud and grateful that I was chosen to be her.
I will never ever forget just how incredible this show was for me as well as the amazing cast I performed with, and of course the committee. We wouldn't have been able to do any of this, this year without their planning, love, support, and of course enjoyment throughout both shows. Without them I don't think we would have all loved this year as much as we have done.
Another big and special moment that happened this term at the Drama Society was the AGM meeting. So an AGM meeting is a meeting where you elect the committee for the next year of either a society or a sport etc. The way we did it was on a piece of paper we each wrote who we wanted it to be, so it was anonymous and then the committee would just add up the scores.
So on our committee you have: President, Vice President, Choreographer, Social Secretary, and Communications Officer. So for Choreographer, Social Sec, and Communications Officer they were handed out straight away as only one person in each category ran for the role. Which was Emily, Andy, and Jess. So yay, sorted. But we had two roles left to fill President and Vice President. So for Vice President the people running were myself, Jenn, and Dave. And the winner was... Dave! Woo, another role sorted and everyone seemed happy. Then left for President it was myself and Ethan and out of both of us, I felt it was 50/50 because we were both passionate about musicals and Drama Society in general and we are good friends so we supported one another till the end. And the winner was... Me!
I couldn't quite believe it but I am so happy and proud to know that I will be running the society next year with my incredible team behind me. For a while I didn't mind what role I got in the end, but by the time the meeting came I knew I really wanted to win President. It's even nicer to know that the society voted me to be president and Emily, who played Sherrie in our production in Rock of Ages, she said to me I should win because my heart is 110% in it always and that is why you'd be so good if you were President. After we did the final show of Rock of Ages, Emily mentioned to her mum and dad that I was going to be the President of the society next year and they said, "Well that's an excellent choice because she's phenomenal" and I totally didn't expect it, just comments like this make me feel so happy and proud of myself.
But now the more exciting part starts, planning the Christmas show and thinking about what were going to do for the spring musical. So we've already started planning the Christmas show, but obviously I'm not going to give you all the juicy details as it's not all finalised and of course, we're not allowed to tell the current society anything were planning so I'm gonna keep that one to myself for now. All I say is both shows are going to be out of this world. I can't wait to get back to uni to start sorting everything out as we've already started planning a bit. But, I just know next year is going to be epic for the society and what makes it better is that everyone on my committee; we're really good friends and have a lot of banter with one another.
As well as Drama Soc, we've all picked our module options for next year, which is another reason why next year is going to be amazing. Apart from the core modules, I've picked: Live Art, Musical Theatre, Directing, and Performance Practice. I can't wait to get started as I'm interested in all of the areas of performance work I've picked and I really hope I do well, as I seem to do really well in things I choose to do rather than what I'm forced to do.
But that does mean, the first year at uni is coming to an end. My god it really has flown by, it's crazy to think of when I got here as I still remember the day I moved in and how happy I was to move away from home but also the weird realisation that I'm actually at university, how am I already at this point in my life? I said to myself in college, I don't think uni is for me, but now that I've been and experienced a year of it (nearly) I've realised it was 110% the best choice for me. I've met the greatest group of friends I've ever had, my years at Chester uni wouldn't be the same without them going through it with me. I feel like everything I've done this year has benefited me as a person and shown to me that I can do this as I have passed all of my modules so far this year. It has been a true roller-coaster already and I can't wait to see what these last few weeks throw my way. And I say,
BRING IT ON!
I'm sure I'll catch up with you guys again in the next few weeks. But for now, thank you for reading through this post, if you have made it to the end.
Love,
Katie
