We had two technical dress rehearsals prior to the Opening to polish everything from our entrance to exit. He was a very charismatic and approachable person. Danny Boyle was a hands-on director as he was always there during the rehearsals and he always gave pep talks to the volunteers. We just needed to be committed and keep on practicing. The first three weeks were held outside of the Olympic Stadium and it was raining all the time! We were told that that in just 20 days we would be transformed into talented actors and performers.
The practice sessions were held at a secret location in Dagenham in East London. The organisers told us that what we would do was like having every West End show happening simultaneously in one night. We all got goose bumps watching what we were supposed to do and the music by Underworld was exhilarating. Then they showed us the concept of our sequence through video. He described to us what we are going to do and where we would come out of the field of play and told us that there would be live animals in the stage, real grass, flowers and plants, etc. Danny asked all of us to converge around the miniature model of the Olympic Stadium with the model of the Green and Pleasant land stage of the Opening Ceremony. Danny Boyle has directed several critically acclaimed films such as Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire. They asked us to attend a briefing day on 1 st May where we were introduced to Danny Boyle, the Artistic Director of the Opening Ceremony. The question in my mind was how do you get noticed from among thousands? Finally, after waiting for almost two months after my second audition, I was told that I had been chosen to be a Coal Miner as part of the most spectacular sequence of the event! I was elated that my two auditions were successful and I never imagined that I would get this far! Rehearsals for the Opening Ceremony took place at a secret location in East London
It was nerve wracking as they were videotaping us at the same time.
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In the second audition, they tested our acting skills, including acting out sequences such as how to lay a picnic mat without having a picnic mat, how to fish, and to act out our daily routines from waking up to brushing our teeth. Two days after my first audition, I was recalled for a second and final audition. The second part of the audition was testing our dancing skills to see if we could memorise choreography. They asked us to physically go to the specific letter and number spot in the grid as directed, if you got lost the chances of being recalled for the next round of audition diminished. They put us in a big grid – north, south, east, west with a corresponding letter and numbers. They first tested our sense of direction. I, for one, was just a Chevening scholar from the Philippines hoping for a chance to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform in an Olympics Ceremony. It was like a microcosm of British society in one venue. I was chosen in the ballot! When my audition day arrived I met people from many different walks of life, young and old, and from different nationalities residing in the UK who came from various parts of the country. Three weeks later I received an email from LOCOG. It was a daunting task but we were all amazed at how we all pulled it off given the fact that majority of the performers were ordinary people coming from every section of British society. It was the most spectacular segment of the ceremony. I played a Coal Miner in the “Pandemonium” or Industrial Revolution segment of the Opening Ceremony when the Five Olympic Rings representing each continent were forged to show unity. Now that the London 2012 Olympic Games have sadly ended, I would like to share with you my amazing journey as one of the volunteer performers of the greatest show on Earth and how the organisers of the Opening Ceremony transformed me from being an ordinary volunteer in 20 days to doing the extra-ordinary. Our latest Chevening Conversations blog has an Olympic theme as Filipino Chevening Scholar Benedict Carandang tells us about how he was selected as a performer for the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Chevening Scholar Benedict Carandang can be seen here at the Opening Ceremony