Reflections on the Mobile Phone Show

Newington’s most recent production, The Mobile Phone Show, was performed on 28 and 29 May. It consisted of a group of Years 7 and 8 boys and one very busy month of rehearsals.

It started back in April when we were given audition notices. Many students tried out for the show’s limited slots. After a long week of anticipation and a callback, the show’s actors had finally been decided and the rehearsals could begin. During these rehearsals we went over our lines, got into character and choreographed the play. Although giving up our Sunday afternoons was hard, it was definitely worth it and it turned into a great show.

The audience participation, the part of the play when the actors interacted with the people in the crowd, was a huge hit. It started with the director asking for all phones to be switched ON, and we watched as the audience quizzically looked at each other. It then progressed to pizza orders, panoramas, selfies and even a huge mobile phone Mexican wave! By the second performance, all tickets had been sold out and it was ‘standing room only’ in the Concordia Theatre. The show was a great success and many thanks go to Mr Williams for making it all happen.

Luke Mesterovic (7/MA)

It seemed too good to be true. We got to be part of a school Drama production AND got to play on our phones the whole time! Of course, this wasn’t the reality for our production of Mobile Phone Show, but the experience of working with Mr Williams, the Year 11 assistant directors and the great cast from Years 7 and 8 was fantastic.

We rehearsed intensely for more than a month where we had to learn lots of complicated dialogue and some of us had to learn LONG monologues. Jim Cartwright’s play wasn’t a straightforward story, but more of an overview of the iGeneration’s attitudes to technology, a celebration of the devices that connect and entertain us, as well as a satirical warning about their limitations.

Everyone was nervous on opening night, but the cast had a great performance. We especially liked being able to ask the audience to please leave their mobile phones on during the performance! We had a sellout show for closing night and the audience participation section was a hit, with members of the cast ringing friends in the audience for a review on the spot!

Thanks again to Mr Williams for his great support and direction.

Sam Burkitt (8/FL)