DCU Drama Intervarsities 2022 - One Rewarding Kermitment!
By Kate Byrne
If you were to tell me a year ago, that in my first year of college I would play one of my most rewarding roles ever in my life in theatre - a chicken - I would have never believed you. In the second semester of my first year of college, I took part in the DCU Drama Inters production of the muppets called “It’s Time to Get Things Started: A Muppet Musical” written and directed by the wonderful, talented Nathan MacDonogh. This show would be DCU’s submission for the Intervarsities competition which was taking place in Tipperary. I was excited for a little road trip down the country with my future show buddies and so, I auditioned. Fortunately, I got the role of Camilla the chicken! Was not expecting it, but a good actor has to be very versatile when it comes to roles. (Plus you didn’t have to learn too many lines except “Bock!”)
In January 2022 we began rehearsals and were musically directed by the lovely Roisín McGrane who had turned catchy hits into even catchier show tunes. The show was choreographed by the amazing Rhyanna Melanson who created daring dance numbers such as a three person tango between myself, the Swedish Chef and Gonzo, which I very much enjoyed! Of course we couldn’t have a stage show without a stage manager who helped put together our iconic costumes - the ever so trendy Jamie Mangan. Everything seemed to fall into place, a friendly cast that got on well, a talented production team, amazing material to work off of, until we received pretty upsetting news - DCU Drama had pulled out of the competition.
I still remember the zoom call, everyone in the cast and crew were devastated. We wondered what we were going to do. Was all of our work going to waste? Would no one be able to see our radiating displays of creativity, talent and fun? Short answer - no. Long answer - There were shows still on the horizon for us as we had the opportunity to perform an open dress rehearsal alongside DCU Drama’s member’s production “Out” by Clair Mangan. To hype up our shows we also had a muppet movie screening which was fun, it reminded me how fun it is to watch a movie with friends, something I hadn’t experienced in a while. Rehearsals were still going ahead and were the highlights of my week, my face would hurt from smiling and I would gasp for air because of how much laughing I’d done. We’d also go on cast nights out, one night I remember was our karaoke night in the Bernard Shaw (if you want to know what happened, basically just watch the karaoke night scene from The Muppets tv show - https://youtu.be/MwaOoWo0UOo).
The first week in March was where we started our tech rehearsals in what we call hell but what most students call “The Venue”. The production team had to withstand endless amounts of obstacles to get our show running to a high standard. Dodgy mics, uncontrollable speakers, stage sizing, broken glasses - all we somehow managed to get by with a little help from our production team. I am still amazed how our stage managers managed to stay calm under all that pressure. It really gives me an appreciation for how any theatre production is made let alone it being in…the Venue.
Now almost six months after our final night performing we still keep in touch with each other about our muppet lego collections, playing among us on zoom (What an absolute 2021 thing to do), meeting up in the city, attending concerts together and an endless list of other activities. We’ve gotten to a point of converting friends outside of the cast and crew, getting them to watch muppets as part of “study”, having new additions to our cast and crew or just dragging them along with the gang. What I recommend to any first year, even any student, thinking of joining a DCU Drama production is to join! Yes, it’s a bit of a commitment, but rehearsals will be the best part of your week. It’s an incredible opportunity to make new friends and express yourself, even if you’re not a performer! Hope to see many more new recruits to this friendly and welcoming cult that we call a society.
(DISCLAIMER: We’re not a cult)
