On stage ... no script ... and three minutes.... arrrgggghhhh.

Imagine being put on stage to perform without a script and only a few things you got from the audience and having three minutes to do it with three other people whom you can’t directly communicate with.

Most people would think that is too hard or impossible but St Thomas’ has their own small teams who do that every lunch and the occasional Friday afternoon. They find the stage to be almost a second home where everything is made up on the spot. They are split by age but they practice together making scenes where anything could happen from flying to the moon to rescuing the planet from rogue toaster waffles. They also compete against teams from other schools from all around Christchurch and the South Island.

The senior Theatresports team competed this year with many nail biting moments and when there was a tie with the St Bede’s team in our first heat, it was resolved by a game that no one expected where we had to do a scene with the most of a genre or topic. We both got “horror”. We managed to win and proceeded to the semi-finals where the winners of all heats would be joined by the winners of the Nelson and Dunedin competitions to make it a South Island affair.

We played hard but we didn’t quite get into the finals, beaten by the eventual overall winner. With a lot of disappointment, we left the stage but we were still happy to have competed and to have reached the semi-finals. One good thing is that Ben O’Connell in his first year of competing has been selected to audition for the Court Jesters who were impressed by his frantic energy on stage. We wish him well.

We still meet up every lunch and Friday afternoon but it is now the Junior Team’s time to shine. They are showing promise and a zeal that can only be found in those who truly love Theatresports.

George Gibbs