Issue 2 Winter 2008 (6.3 MB) - Blundell's School

B EHIND THE SCENESBehind the scenes in Ondaatje Hallby James Evans L6There are many places in the school some of us may neverventure in our time at Blundell’s, one of these beingbackstage in Ondaatje Hall. Built in 1989 and named after OBSir Christopher Ondaatje (P 1947-51), the theatre is still runningstrong today, hosting a wide variety of events each term fromlectures and debates to plays and musicals.Dramatic production at Blundell’s runs non-stop throughout theyear. In the Autumn Term the very first two weeks are devotedsolely to the school musical: this year we saw “Seven Bridesfor Seven Brothers”. This was followed by “Our Country’sGood”, the school play in the second half of term, and also theNorth Close play, “Cheque Please”. The Spring Term is just asbusy with an intense line-up of house plays, a school houseproduction, GCSE and A-level performances.Behind all of this lies a devoted group of hard-line staff andpupils, each interested in different elements of production -from technical aspects such as lighting, sound and scenery, setbuildingand scene changing; the Wardrobe with costumemaking, props and makeup; to the directing staff and front ofhouse. Each of these aspects combine to form a fantastic groupknown as the Production Team.On the technical side, Mr Winwood manages Ondaatje down toevery last detail of dates for performances, hiring equipmentand the colours of each light on the stage, unfailingly assistedby LVI Form pupils Seth Richards (lighting), Russell Fleming(sound), Andrew Bewsey and Michael Saupé with scenery. Thishas recently been taken to new heights with £11,000 beingspent on new lighting and sound equipment.The reins to the Wardrobe are held tightly by Mrs Corden, andher tireless battle to make sure each and every thespian ‘looksthe part’ is widely admired. Alongside Mrs Corden, MissBaddeley and Mrs Milne both hold huge positions ofresponsibility - Miss Baddeley directed the School Play “OurCountry’s Good” by Timberlake Werkenbarker last term, andMrs Milne directed the Year 9 and 10 Play. As well as theseextra productions, all of these teachers also teach Drama asGCSE and A-Level subjects, which culminates in assessedperformances at the end of the Spring Term, which are oftenespecially powerful and poignant.Also voluntarily attached to Ondaatje at different times in theyear are Mr Barlow and Miss Symonds who musically directand choreograph the School Musical respectively; Mrs Steelewho has a flair for make-up and huge fake beards; groups ofinterested Year 9s to help with scenery; and of course themotley assortment of LVI Form House Play directors!Backstage in Ondaatje is certainly a vital part of Blundell’s, andhas greatly inspired many Blundellians to take their expertisefurther in a field that they are interested in.33