ISTA-Scene June 08

Alan HayesDavid LightbodyMike Pasternak and Sherri SuttonTexas TAPSjust want to sleep on the field. I think I justtried to drink some water and juice toovercome my sleepiness. The impact thatISTA will have on me for a long time wouldbe that it is never too hard to make newfriends. I have made so many friends in thistrip and it is amazing for me to understandthat to make a new friend, all you need iscommunication.Students from Regent’s School Pattaya– KGV HIGH SCHOOL FESTIVALLaura RandI have decided to sign up to haveanother opportunity to explore the differentaspects of theatre when working in anensemble and to make friends fromdifferent countries and schools in theproCess. My first impression of the hostcity on my arrival was that it is a verydeveloped country but having culture at thesame. I was not nervous about anything atthe beginning of the festival as I have beento ISTA before this but I was excited to seewhat the theme was for this ISTA trip andhow I and the other students were going touse it. At the end of the first day, I felt moreat ease with the people I was working withas I have spent my first day getting toknow them on our trip to the Buddha. Thebest quality of my ensemble leader is thathe made us want to produce the piece weproduced and from this, I have learnt how14 | Scene | 2007-8 June Issue 4to interpret and use props differently. Thehighlight in my opinion was the finalperformance because that was when allthe ensembles gathered together andjoined their pieces to make one big piece, itwas a highlight because it was interestingto see what everyone else had producedduring their ensemble sessions. The impactthat this ISTA experience will have on me inthe long term is that I have made newfriends and acquaintances and know moreabout working together in an ensemble andbeing more open-minded to other people’sideas and suggestions. The three wordsthat describes ISTA for me are enjoyable,educational and an opportunity forexperience!Katie SmithI signed up for ISTA because I lovedrama, my teacher recommended it andbecause students from my school who hadbeen before told me it was really amazingand that it would greatly improve my dramaskills. At first I was nervous about howdifficult the ‘learning’ part would be andwhat if I didn’t meet the expectations of theteachers? But when the weekend started Irealised that everything was taught in arelaxed way and that it wasn’t like being inclass and that no one wanted anythingfrom you that you weren’t willing to give.And now, looking back on the trip, I learntso much without actually realising it at thetime. I think that I learnt the most in myensemble group led by Jesse; I particularlyenjoyed exploring different ways of showingdramatic tension and have found it to besomething that I have used a lot in mydrama lessons. Also, Jesse was a greatteacher, mainly because he didn’t act like ateacher and was cool, but also because heunderstood we were teenager and madethings interesting for us.One of the best things about ISTA otherthan drama was being in a foreign countryand staying in a host family because for meit brought me closer to the people whowere doing ISTA with me. My firstimpression of Hong Kong was “Oh myGod, it’s so cold” and that it had a lotbuildings and things going on and wasreally happening and cultural but stillmodern. My host family was really nice andwelcoming and made the trip a lot easieras I had people who could explain to meabout Hong Kong.Overall, ISTA was a fantastic experienceand at the end of it I felt quite strangebecause I had done so many things andmet so many people in one short weekendthat I couldn’t really get it through my headwhat I had been through. In the long termISTA has defiantly helped to open my mindto different ways of expressing myselfthrough drama as well as introducing me topeople who I’m now going to keep incontact with.ISTA was – IntenseSurrealTiringAmazingPaula HakkajaThis was the second year that Iparticipated in an ISTA festival. Last year'sexperience made me to sign up for it againand I don't regret it. Hong Kong has alwaysbeen one of the dream destinations for meand therefore as the opportunity arose I gotexited beforehand. Furthermore, the daysbefore the festival were quite intense as allof us were excited about host families,workshops, ensembles and new peopleduring the event.The host families varied in theirnationalities and backgrounds, which madethe experience even more engaging for thestudents. My host family originated from theUK, which meant that I was part of morewestern lifestyle. It was a good change, as Icome from Europe and quite often get tomiss European customs and food. Thisbrings up another pleasant factor for me inHong Kong – the cool weather.The workshops in ISTA were also verystimulating. They were not only fun, butalso practical. We learned many new skillsthat can be applied in the drama at futureperformances. For instance, I learnedabout seven energy levels of a human andhow they affect performers, characters andthe audience. Furthermore, I discoveredthat important part of the performance isan occupation of a space on stage – how acertain position of a neutral body in spacecan appeal more dramatically thanexaggerated actions. Therefore performers,directors have to think about the positionson the stage even more.Working as an ensemble is animportant factor of every production.Compared to the previous year, theensemble was more consistent. Ourensemble leader involved everyone in thebrainstorming process and therefore everyperson had some of their ideas applied tothe final performance. Although in thebeginning, it was difficult to apply all thedifferent ideas to one production, in theend everyone listened to each other more.Overall, it was great to meet so manypeople with the same interest at once. Thedifferent cultures of all the students werecontributing to my personal development.However the time in Hong Kong waslimited and the only local culturalexperience was gained when we went tosee a monastery. Also we did not haveenough time to socialize with our friendsand this made the leaving especiallyheartbreaking.Matthew GalvinISTA was a very helpful program not justfor drama but for daily life, it really openedmy eyes and allowed me to experiencemuch more than what I was expecting. Imainly wanted to go to ISTA so I couldimprove on my drama skills and also tomake lots of new friends, which I did.My first impressions of Hong Kongwere mainly put into two words: Cold &Lights and where ever I went it seemed likeboth of those words were always there.