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Junior Emerson Hartman went to CABIN this past weekend with her OAP peers.

What are some activities you did at CABIN (OAP Theatre weekend retreat)?

We would all go through the script either by ourselves or with a friend. And we would basically mark down our characters and what the subtext is. So your character may be saying one thing, but can completely mean another thing, and so we did an entire run through where we just spoke our subtext instead of our actual lines. It was really interesting for character development and [thinking through] what they actually want in the scene. We also had a ton of team building at night because we have a pretty tight schedule throughout the entire day so at night, we do a lot of bonding and team building. And it honestly just brought us together as a cast and as a class. I feel like in theater, you have to have good connections and chemistry with your castmates, because that is just so important. Because that shows on stage. You know, if two people like each other or if they don’t like each other, your connections and friendships will show on stage. And it is so important to have those strong connections with one another to really tie your production and the characters that you’re playing together.

Why did you decide to join OAP?

I decided to join OAP to challenge myself. I have never done any sort of theater competition before. I didn’t do UIL [Theatre] in middle school, so this is my first time ever going to a competition. I like to test my acting abilities and also get a lot of great feedback from judges, and from Mrs. Schneider and everyone, and also to build those connections with the other people in the cast.

What are your thoughts on the OAP show right now?

 It’s really good. It is a period show, so the Tudor time period with Queen Elizabeth, but it has this punk goth kind of twist to it. It’s really cool. You would think those two things don’t work out together, but they do and it’s so cool. And you know, it’s all about female empowerment so it’s just amazing.

What are your favorite parts about CABIN? 

My favorite part about CABIN would have to be during the downtime. You get to hang out with people that you normally don’t hang out with in class and talk and connect more with people outside of your little circles. And honestly, I feel like that really helps the cast.

How did this weekend help you grow closer to your peers?

I feel like it helped me grow closer to my peers by putting us all in one house and having us constantly go over that show. So it’s not like after school rehearsals, but we are cooking meals together and cleaning up. We’re organizing all of our sleeping spaces together, we’re just doing a lot of, I guess, domestic things that really helped bring us together.

What is one big takeaway from this weekend? 

One big takeaway from this weekend is that theater truly is a family. And we are all there for each other, and we are all committed to helping each other and making our show the best that it can be.