THE ACTING EXPERIENCE

Mary Papadopoulou

I am really keen on acting. Some months ago I had my first experience of appearing on the stage, and I could say that it was a really exciting one.

It all started when the French teacher of my school (the 4th Gymnasium) asked if there were any children who were interested in taking part in a theatrical competition in the French language, which was taking place in Athens.

I was really interested in this competition, and there were also another 13 children who were interested in taking part. So it happened! Our teacher found a play which was called “INTERMEZZO” by “Jean Giraudoud”, and after a month and a half of rehearsals we were ready for the competition.

We left for Athens on Wednesday the 26th of March by train and after a 6 hour journey we came to our hotel, the “ILION”. The hotel wasn’t the best in Athens - we had some problems with our bedrooms - but we stayed there for 5 days and had a great time altogether.

The day after we arrived we had to visit the French Institute where we met other children from countries such as Egypt, France, Belgium and so on. We tried to communicate with them either in French or English, and we learned many things about their countries and their civilisation.

After we had watched the performances of some other children it was time for us to give ours. We were very nervous at first, but in the end we performed very well, and everybody said that it was a really funny and enjoyable play. The next three mornings we spent in the “atelier” and our afternoons watching the performances of the others.

On the last day the organisers of the competition gave us some souvenir T-shirts, and they invited the team which had won the first award to come to France as a prize. Unfortunately we came second, so we didn’t get the prize, however we were really satisfied, for the prize was not the main point for us. We just wanted to meet other children and try and communicate with them, to live this wonderful theatrical experience and have fun all together.

So if you’ve ever thought of taking part in a drama class don’t hesitate - I’m sure you will enjoy it very much !

Mary Papadopoulou is 17 years old and a student at the fourth Lykeio. She has passed the Cambridge First Certificate, obtaining an A grade in her interview.