Anyone for Tennis?

Anyone for Tennis? 

“Anyone for Tennis?” was written for a group of fourteen to fifteen year old work experience children from a local, fairly disorderly, secondary school. The group were due to be with the theatre for a week, and wanted some experience of work in a theatre environment. This short (20 minute) play, was written as a burlesque style sketch with the intention of having some fun, while providing a genuine experience of theatre work for a disaffected bunch of boys and girls who had taken a Drama option at school.

There were a small number of playable parts for both sexes, some very silly dialogue with bad jokes and ludicrously exaggerated characters.

There were jobs on the technical side – lighting, sound, costume, props and a bit of set. There were research roles as the play was set in the 1920’s and had to have the right costume.

On the technical side light and sound cues were timed for comic effect, with heavy prompts from the on stage characters. Dusk fell in a series of jerks, and the helicopter was announced with a sound cue which circled and circled before it came to land.

Theatre Peckham staff assisted on the technical side, and showed them how to research historic costume, but did not make a huge input.

The group worked from script which  suggested the activities. It became a rough guide to success or failure – did the sound cue come in on time? Did we believe in Algie? In Dixie? How were things meant to be? They got this message, and showed pretty good judgement on the whole.

I was very happy with the result of this project. From a bunch of kids lolling sullenly on theatre chairs they slotted into roles which were fairly acceptable to most of them, and, miracles! – by the end of the week they had a performable play and a great sense of achievement. Myself I was best pleased by the task of the technical side, which allowed the technical students not only to programme and operate the equipment, but to get laughs. A bonus indeed..