Day 13: Showtime and Goodbye time

So I can now officially say I have performed in Amsterdam. Even better, in an actual theatre this time!

After such an emotionally explosive week, I was very anxious about the result of the final performance. While my faith had grown considerably from the process of the Ommen performance, I was still unconvinced that what we had created was good enough to show a public audience in Amsterdam. 

When I stepped into the theatre, I began to feel nervous and excitement. This was a massive relief because during the Ommen performance, I felt nothing.

This experience was certainly not like one I had previously encountered. I learnt my lines on the bus on the way to the theatre, chose my costume an hour before the show and changed the delivery of my lines dozens of times that day before making a decision. 

No one was quite sure what they were doing or what was going to happen...

I continuously had to remind myself what we were dealing with:

30 people, all from different countries and different cultures, interested in different art forms and given 3 days to create a full performance. 

The more I thought about it, the more positive I became. Scattered around the dressing room was the most diverse group of people I had ever met, all focused, getting into costume, doing eachother's make-up ,rehearsing lines and practising dance moves. It was amazing.

The production itself was bizarre, like nothing I had seen or been involved in before. The more I saw of it, the more I enjoyed it. I won't lie and say it was the greatest piece of theatre ever created, but I think it was a good showcase and representation of us as a group and all the hard work people had done for the last 2 weeks. For that reason it was really special.

Then it was goodbye time. Most people cried because they couldn't bear to see me go. I just have that effect on people sometimes. It's kinda awkward...

As the saying goes: When in Rome. 

Well I say: When in Amsterdam. 

It would have been a real shame to have performed in Amsterdam but not to have seen any of the city or experienced the night-life. After a tiring two weeks, it was important to blow off some steam. And blow off steam we did...

Fin x