A stolen computer, a harrowing chase, a sweet love story, an old granny losing her memory… This is how the extraordinary Pickles’ group performed in our school.
The actors were close to the audience and showed great originality by their quick costume changes between each scene. We could only count three actors, but each of them played around three roles! Their ability to change costumes quickly, to put themselves in the skin of many people at the same time, was simply amazing.
The actors had taken two students from each class, offering them the opportunity to participate in the play by assigning them a small role, as a passer-by, a bartender, or even a narrator. In doing so, these students had the chance to be immersed in the play, to share the smile, the happiness of being watched under the spotlight of Theater.
The other students in the audience were also in some way integral to the performance, given the interactions they were involved in. From commenting on people’s clothing, asking if their mom was okay, to even laying on a few students, the grandma was extraordinarily entertaining, and the main source of smiles on the audience’s lips.
The actors came from different places (such as Quebec, California and New Zealand). Their accents were quite different but nevertheless understandable by French students who were not used to foreign accents. These differences translated into an unprecedented variety proving that difference makes unity. It’s thanks to a theater company that this trio had the chance to meet, despite the distance that separated them throughout the world.
Finally, in order to end this article properly, we would really like to thank all those who participated in this show with enthusiasm, whether they were in the audience, on the stage, from near or far, implicitly or explicitly…
We would also like to thank all those who made it possible for this play to be performed and to exist, and obviously, the actors!
For a bit of merriment and to illustrate that students happily played along with the actors, we took the lead in sharing a few words about their marvelous experience on stage.
Neyssa, 15 years old:
« As a student actor, it was an incredible experience to play on scene with only English-speaking actors that didn’t understand a single word of French. It really made us use our English skills and it was a new and refreshing way of learning how to act on scene for the play we were about to perform. At first, all of this was scary but the actors made us so comfortable and never put any pressure on us, so performing in front of 3 classes became so easy. Taking this opportunity was a really fun and memorable experience, thanks to the Pickles company. »
In French:
« En tant qu’élève acteur, ce fut une expérience incroyable de jouer sur scène avec des acteurs anglophones qui ne comprenaient pas un seul mot de français. Cela nous a vraiment fait utiliser nos compétences en anglais et c’était une façon nouvelle et originale d’apprendre à jouer sur scène pour la pièce que nous étions sur le point de jouer. Au début, tout cela était effrayant, mais les acteurs nous ont mis à l’aise et ne nous ont jamais mis la pression, si bien que jouer devant trois classes est devenu si facile. Saisir cette opportunité a été une expérience vraiment agréable et mémorable, grâce à la compagnie des Pickles. »
Theo, 16 years old:
« Spending time with this troupe was a challenge because we were not used to acting, and even less so in English. But the actors were very kind and supportive and gave us advice to help us feel better while we were stressed. Finally, thanks to them, we were able to play without being afraid and giving the best of ourselves, always staying serious. »
In French:
« Passer du temps avec cette troupe a été un défi car nous ne sommes pas habitués à jouer et encore moins en anglais. Mais les acteurs étaient très gentils et tellement rassurants en nous donnant des conseils pour nous aider à aller mieux quand on était stressés. Au final, grâce à eux, nous avons pu jouer sans avoir peur et en donnant le meilleur de nous-même et surtout en restant sérieux. »
Thelma, 15 years old:
“I loved doing this English comedy. At the beginning I was a little bit stressed (like the others) especially because we were going to pass in front of a lot of classes, but the actors gave us exercises to de-stress and that helped us a lot. It was funny, we also integrated well into the acting group. I am really happy to have played with them in this play; if I had to do it again I would definitely! »
In French:
« J’ai adoré faire cette comédie anglaise. Au départ j’étais un peu stressée (comme les autres) surtout parce qu’on allait passer devant pleins de classe, mais les comédiens nous ont fait des exercices pour déstresser et ça nous a beaucoup aidé. C’était drôle, on s’est aussi bien intégré à la troupe de comédien. Je suis vraiment contente d’avoir joué avec eux cette pièce de théâtre et si c’était à refaire je le referais ! »
An article written by Sara Maroto and Jeanne Reyssat,
January 4th, 2023.
