Group Skills

Group Skills

Final Essay

Part A

For the past six years, I have been member of the Tarxien Pageant Group. Founded back in the 1970's, this group annually puts up a play of the life and passion of Jesus Christ during Lent, just before Good Friday. It was my mother who introduced me to this group. She was helping in the costume department and I soon became interested in what she used to tell me. I was still in Form 2 then and I began attending rehearsals daily. Presently, I made friends with the rest of the group and began enjoying myself. I became a regular member of the Pageant Group and believed firmly in the message we were delivering to all those who came and still come to see us.

The group is a fairly large one, with more than a hundred members involved. It is no surprise therefore that I do not know all of them personally. Some of these live in distant villages so I do not have regular contact with them and I only see them once a year. The ages of the members vary from very young (three years) to a much older age (eighty years). However the group is mostly made up of youths between the ages of fifteen and twenty two. This is a very reassuring fact, as the group thrives on the young to transmit energy and to ensure continuity throughout the years.

Although not every member gives the pageant the importance due, no one takes it lightly especially during the performing days. Most members never took drama courses and neither does the group administration expect anyone to have it. Everyone is allowed to join, with no fees or qualifications involved. They are, however, expected to take it seriously and to commit themselves to it especially if they have an important role to play in the pageant. The group also has its football team which sometimes organises tournaments or friendly matches.

During rehearsal days, the group meets every single day of the week. While the weekdays are dedicated to proper rehearsals, the weekends are spent working on the huge set on which the play unfolds. We meet at the local youth centre where the large yard is the perfect venue to stage the pageant. Outside the lent period, the group meets every Saturday, Sunday and Monday. In summer we usually have barbeques on Saturdays or Sundays and youth formation meetings on Mondays.

Perhaps the one experience which is the most meaningful to our group is the pageant itself. Although it happens annually, every year is a separate experience with its various incidents and small triumphs. However I would like to narrate an episode which happened during one of the performing days from last year and in which I had a very important role. The dates vary with each passing year but it is always sometime in March or April, spread out on four days. Last year's pageant occurred on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th of April. An hour or so before the show, the hall would be a bustle of activity; everyone trying to put on their costumes in the proper manner and applying make-up in the limited light offered. Men polish their soldier armour one last time and the young run to and fro while outside the audience starts pouring in to take the best seats. We try to calculate the amount of people present by counting the empty seats. During the first two days there is less attendance than in the last two but there is almost never more than a hundred empty seats and since the yard houses five hundred, this is quite a good achievement. On the last day especially all the seats are full and there are people standing at the back or sitting on make-shift chairs. It's hard to describe the excitement as the lights fade and everyone is assembled behind the door, waiting for their cue. Some shiver from cold and enthusiasm while others from downright fear, particularly those who have a pivotal role to play. Although this is a live play, the voices are pre-recorded, so automatically all other actions have to be acted out within a stipulated time and improvisation is not possible. There are some drawbacks to this method, as you will see in this episode. Last year, I played the part of Salome, Herod's daughter, and while I was dancing the lights went out. The music stopped and all the lights were spent except for one spotlight aimed directly at me. I went on dancing for a while, hoping the lights would come on. When it was apparent that they wouldn't I had to stop and wait with everyone else. To everyone's relief, the lights came back on after a few minutes. We were afraid the CD which contained the recorded script would have either begun from the very beginning or had gone forwards but it didn't. As the play progressed, everyone became more at ease. During the rest of the performing days, everything went according to plan and we could celebrate another successful year.

Part B

The Pageant Group is presided over by a committee made up of nine members. Every member is in charge of a certain aspect of the group; my mother for instance who forms part of this committee is the cashier who is in charge of the input from fund raising activities and the money spent on new costumes, stage materials, decorations and so on. There are also the vice-cashier, secretary, vice-president and other members who are in charge of the snack bar, fund raising activities, the set and the youth members of the group. Above all, there is a president, Alex, who is elected by the committee who are in turn elected by all the members of the group. During the pageant period, which is the time which interests us most, the script is written by a team chosen by the committee who are aided by a spiritual leader and the secretary is the one who records voices and edits the music: in other words he brings the script to life. The president aided by the vice-president, apart from representing the group as a whole makes sure there is discipline during rehearsals and good conduct from all members throughout the year. As to his leadership style, he uses a more democratic approach, allowing the members their space to fulfil their task and perhaps lend a hand in the process. Alex has the role of Pontius Pilate in the pageant and the vice-president takes up his role as the director of the play. Her approach is more evaluative; she is insistent on a job done well and efficiently but even she recognises the importance of the member's ideas and input. During the day of the episode, none of the leaders was around to