The first thing that jumps to mind is the realisation of fluffing scenes on stage, panics about how little progress I’d made on learning lines in rehearsals, and being desperately sad when I was told that I should really try and do my hair in ‘curtains’ for the performance, when I was adamant that my hairstyle was already in ‘curtains’ (this was 1999).
Properly thinking back on my four years (1999 – 2003) in the Senior group, it’s the general memories of community and camaraderie that really stand out. Those weeks building up to a performance where we’d run through tricky scenes a millions times; the calm encouragement we gave each other no matter how panicked we were; the friendships that crossed year groups and schools and the richly diverse perspectives we gained; the pizza-fuelled celebration to wrap up a big performance.
First Bite helped me develop my confidence way more than I realised at the time. Once you’ve held your audience’s attention for a few acts as John Proctor in The Crucible, all the while eating cold food out of a tin, the thought of a big presentation or impromptu speech is a lot less scary!
Robbie de Santos (1999 – 2003)
