Masks, Murder, & Betrayal: An Inside Look of the Fall Play
Director and Cast work together for a drama-comedy production.
The cast stands together at the end of their showing of “The Play That Goes Wrong” by the West End Stage to give a final bow on Nov. 5. From left to right: junior Olivia Kottre, junior Adam Keeling, sophomore Hailey Dinger, sophomore Ashley Mitchell, junior Kyle Milburn, sophomore Charlotte Nicholas, junior Brynna Gritter, junior Anika Ylen, freshman Grace Foultner, freshman Maddie Schosha, freshman Nicki Ito, sophomore Will Leventhal.
After weeks of grueling after school rehearsal, the Drama class unveiled their long-awaited play. With only 16 people, the cast was able to create tight bonds with one another. “The Play That Goes Wrong” is about a cast persevering through constant setbacks during one of their “productions.” In the original plot, the cast is investigating the murder of a powerful and influential figure; however, throughout the entirety of the show misfortune plagues them. Props were breaking. Cast members were “forgetting” their lines. The set was falling over.
Director Cate Caffarella explained the process of creating this particular set. “[For this play] the set had to be modular (move on and off). There was a revolving bookcase. This was a tricky set because it had to be moved from place to place. It just added a level of engineering.”
Speaking of challenges, sophomore Charlotte Nicholas (who plays Annie) said, “[the hardest part of this project was] the time and energy to put into a show. You can have a fun time but a lot of it is draining, especially when you have to go and redo scenes over and over again.
Nicholas advises, “Maximize your time. Any moment you have that you’re not acting on stage or at rehearsal, you have to be doing homework and keeping up”. Much of the work the actors did was to persuade the audience that this was the first time these incidents were occurring.
Director Caffarella mentions, “It’s such a big part of the show because it’s a farce and it’s really over-exaggerated and having to create these characters that were just so over the top. Then being able to react in an authentic manner when something went wrong.” The cast truly enjoyed each other’s company, for it shines in each scene. Their interactions were comfortable and relaxed.
Cast member, Nicholas says, “I feel like the connections I have now are going to be friendships I’m going to have for a long time. You’re constantly together. It’s a very close-knit cast. I really love it”.
The play attracted a lot of attention compared to previous productions, this production ended up being one of their largest turnouts in many years. Director Caffarella noticed that this was one of their biggest audiences to date. Before, plays would take place in the old cafeteria where they would only have an audience of about 100 in total; whereas, this production had over an audience of 100 people each night.
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Avneet Dhaliwal has been on staff for more than a year and is now beginning her second as an Editor-in-Chief (EIC). Her area of specialization includes...
