Emersyn was asked to write a piece for the school paper on her prospective of the Concordia play, Stand By Me. The teacher was so impressed with her story that it will be published in the Shanghai Daily.

by Emersyn

THE curtain rises on the final night of performances for Concordia’s 2014 production of “Stand By Me.” The play begins, and while
the audience watches a smooth, rehearsed performance, backstage there is a flurry of activity. Makeup artists tediously apply and fix makeup on slightly unwilling actors. The stage crew dashes through the halls putting props into place and running the sets on and off
stage. The actors sit nervously backstage practicing lines just as they’ve done hundreds of times before this night. In the midst of the nervous energy buzzing backstage, the realisation hits that tonight is the final night of months of work.

From the beginning, the play has been hard work. For the actors, the immediacy of memorizing lines has required much practice. The makeup artists have spent hours mixing foundation and perfecting stage makeup, while the stage crew has worked on putting together a realistic set. It wasn’t long before practice escalated from two days a week to five, which has made it tougher to complete all our homework on time. The nights spent rehearsing until 10pm have resulted in bags and dark circles under our eyes the next day. Maybe it is the fact we have all been put in the same situation despite our grade level or gender that allowed the cast and crew of “Stand By Me” to form a family-like bond. That bond created backstage portrays the same message that was being portrayed on stage through the characters of Valerie, Teddy, Chrissy, and Gordy.

Ultimately, producing “Stand By Me” hasn’t been easy, but it’s something none of us would trade for anything. No matter how far behind we were on our homework or the lack of sleep we received, the friendships that have been forged during the process are longer lasting and far more rewarding than the applause that comes at the end.

The screen shot of the page from the Shanghai Daily.