The WG Drama Department produced
Sidney Kingsley's amazing play The Detective Story
April 20th, 21st, and 22nd - 2018
In the Jerry R. Knight Auditorium
It was the Spring Play this year, and it turned out to be such an amazing opportunity for the students to dive into the past, play with a large cast, navigate this massively complex text, breath life into these layered characters and deliver a very intimate story in a very large theater.
The cast of WG Drama's production of "Detective Story"
The play was originally produced in 1949 for the stage but was later adapted for film and made into an award-winning movie with Kirk Douglas.
THE CAST
Detective McLeod......................................................Logan Corzine
Detective Callahan......................................................Meredith Grimm-Howell
Detective Brody...........................................................Christian Ragain
Detective Gallagher.....................................................Rowan Van Horn
Detective Dakis............................................................Loren Kahrhoff
Detective O’Brien.........................................................Danny Chura
Mary............................................................................Trinity Lynn
Shoplifter......................................................................Bridget Kahrhoff
Lieutenant....................................................................Trinity Madison
Joe................................................................................Aidan Kurtz
Susan............................................................................Suzanna Kessler
Arthur...........................................................................Spencer Erb
Charlie.........................................................................Hank Geers
Lewis............................................................................Sam Getz
Sims.............................................................................Ben Hardin
Dr. Kurt Schneider.........................................................Elliot Williams
Willy.............................................................................Trevor Zink
Mrs. Farragut................................................................Grace Engel
Mrs. Pritchett................................................................Jessica Peterson
Mrs. Hatch....................................................................Grace Engel
Mrs. Bagatelle...............................................................Suzanne Kessler
Mrs. Gallantz................................................................Audrey Alt
Tommy Giacopetti........................................................Colin Shue
Mr. Feeney....................................................................Zack Comegys
Mrs. Feeney..................................................................Basil Sessen
Photographer................................................................Takeaki Enomoto
Patrolman Barnes..........................................................Yusuf Randolph
Patrolman “gus” Keogh..................................................Emmett Killeen
Patrolman Baker............................................................Kris Kuse
Crumbum......................................................................Connor Hanneken
Trevor, Joi, Basil, Colin, Eva, and Zia backstage and poised...
It was an extremely ambitious and challenging script to stage. It was a big set, a lot of costumes, a lot of props, and it was a very large group of people to get into one place to get work done. The play runs like a modern TV "police dramedy" that has characters coming in and out all the time, its three acts, and the action shifting from scene to scene in an instant. It really moves well.
Hank, Sam, and Yusuf
STAGE MANAGEMENT
Rehearsals got rather complicated at times, blocking and staging became all about mapping, and their were always a lot of people to map out and remember.
Basil Sessen played every part in rehearsal, Eva Berger was on book, and Conner Hanneken managed the company...Worked out great and we got it all done by deadline!
The "call board" for the show once we moved into the auditorium and started dress rehearsals
THE TECHIES
This year had a techie "Boys Club" and they were weird...we like that!
(from left to right)
Ethan, Jack, Sam, Jacob, and Neo
PRODUCTION STAFF
Director/Tech Director……..………………………………………………...Mr. Schaefer
Student Director/Dramaturg.……………………………..Hannah Leatherbarrow
Company Manager/SM……………………………………………….Connor Hanneken
Assistant to the Stage Manager…………………………………………...Basil Sessen
Assistant to the Stage Manager……………………………………………...Eva Berger
Technical Director………………………………………………………………….Jacob Noce
Set Design/Construction……………………... 1st Hour Technical Theater Class
Lighting Designer/M.E.…………………………………………………………..Ethan Ryan
Assistant to the Lighting Designer………………………………………... Jack Austin
Lighting Crew…………………………………5th Hour Advanced Technical Theater
Sound Designer……………………………………………………………………..Sam Toskin
Assistant to the Sound Designer…………………………………………...Neo Nichols
Costume Manager/Design………..…………………………………………..Tea Gardner
Costume Crew……………….Tea Gardner, Grey Ferber, Liz Carver, Joi Johnson, and Zia Massena
Properties Manager/Design……...………………………………………...Maggie Pool
House Management/Design……………………………………………….Maddy Toskin
Box Office asst…………………………………………..atalia Sauer and Tyler Benbow
PR banner Design..................................................................Al Kellenberger
Make-up/Hair..........................................Al kellenberger, Cecily Schumanske,
Bella DeArmitt, Jessica Powell, and Zia messano
T-Shirt Design...............................................................................Sam Hayden
Program Cover Design...................................................................Aidan Kurtz
Prop Gun Design.......................................................................Sam Habecker
Shield logo design......................................................Robert Hood and Aly Goggin
PR banner Design..................................................................Al Kellenberger
Make-up/Hair..........................................Al kellenberger, Cecily Schumanske,
Bella DeArmitt, Jessica Powell, and Zia messano
T-Shirt Design...............................................................................Sam Hayden
Program Cover Design...................................................................Aidan Kurtz
Prop Gun Design.......................................................................Sam Habecker
Shield logo design......................................................Robert Hood and Aly Goggin
The whole Cast and Crew!
MARKETING
We had lots of great stuf hung up around the campus the week of the show. We also had a group of students work on the two display cases we use to promote shows.
Senior Display Case is always a great way to get the word out to the students coming in the main entrance, and it also puts faces of the cast out there for friends to know who's in the show.
We also put a display in the case that faces the exit of the library.
It has also proven to help get the show's times and dates available to students.
Yard signs and banner also help promote the production and a lot of students help make the marketing materials every show. It is always different kids coming in to help chalk the banners or hand letter the year signs.
Special shout out to Al Kellenberger (pictured here with the cat workout shirt)
for donating a ton of time to the marketing for this show.
We hang them in all of the high traffic zones in the school - the pillar in the cafeteria entrance is always a great spot to catch people's attention at lunch.
T-SHIRT DESIGN
We have all of the students in the Tech Theater classes design posters and the T-shirts for the production.
This project gives them a practical application to study effective marketing tools, how to make them to sell the product you have, and how to digitally design or draft with pencil and paper to get you ideas ready to print.
The T-shirt designs are hand drawn and then sharpie'd until they are camera ready.
Sam Hayden's very slick design was an easy choice by the cast and crew
The cast and crew order their shirts and we get them printed by Mrs Genovese.
They wear them show week.
SET DESIGN
We start with research boards we build in the library with the Technical Theater Classes. Then they begin designing the set wall by wall. These are the individual drawings the students in tech class drew and we always hang in the lobby for the audience to look at and see a bit more of the process the production goes through before we open.
The design boards definitely show how we have to collaborate and creativity mix ideas of many people into the final product.
This is some of the set dressing we made
The scenic design for the show had to accomplish the locale of the play but also had to divide the action of the show and make the audience feel like they were being bounced around like a perp being brought into the precinct.
LIGHTING
(Lighting Designer - Ethan Ryan)
The set was lit very well. The practicals that we hung allowed for some lower light on the walls...leaving shadows everywhere on the walls behind the action, and creating lots of depth in the space.
Ethan's front light lit the actors faces and bodies, but we also had some light also coming from several overhead fixtures that also created great zones on the stage for the characters to exist. We added desk lamps, sconces, floor lamps and hallway lights too. It was warm, we got two times of day and Ethan added lighting for a special scene in Act II.
COSTUMES
Tea Gardner and Grey Ferber managed the costumes for this very large cast but had lots of help from Mr. Schaefer and some other students along the way. It is a very tough job to keep the costumes organized for a show of this size, but these two are pros at running costumes for a show.
The Costume managers have to make sure all of the clothing used in the show is checked out to an actor and checked back in after the close is over. EVERYTHING must be back on a hanger.
Tea and the team set up tables backstage to work from and used design boards that broke down the period styles for the clothing, hair, and make-up.
SOME (not all) COSTUMES IN THE SHOW...
Suzanna Jessica Grace
Zach Spencer Trinity and Logan
Audrey Aidan and Bridget
MAKE-UP / HAIR
We had a solid crew of students interested in laying around with the make-up and hair on this show. It was set in the late 40's so we tried to get a couple of victory rolls on a few girls.
Mr. Schaefer working on aging Elliot a bit for the role of Dr. Schneider
PROPERTIES
Maggie Pool did a great job (once again!) helping to gather, setting up and cleaning, organizing the the prop tables backstage, and running the props for the show.
We had a prop gun backstage for this production due to the ending and that always adds some extra sense of safety and protocol for show's props mistress.
Maggie and Jack making sure the set is ready before the house opens.
Maggie is a real pro at the job and the cast feels safe knowing she's got their backs!
Jack Austin operated the light board for the show Jacob Noce was the TD on the show
SOUND op and design
We had a lot of opportunity to build some interesting moments in the show with sound effects and Sam Toskin took the challenge!
Neo and Sam teamed up to run sound for the show.
Sam Toskin worked extremely hard engineering all of the sound FX and geting it all to time out great before we opened.
He also set up a ton of great on stage microphones that really helped out the actors
and the audience definitely heard everything better in the house.
He also set up a ton of great on stage microphones that really helped out the actors
and the audience definitely heard everything better in the house.
RIGHT BEFORE THE SHOW STARTS!!!
Everyone getting FIRE'd UP!!!
The audience is being taken to their seats...
The Program cover was designed by Aidan Kurtz
From the program...
...AND SOME SHOW PICTURES
Bridget, Christian and Loren
Rowan opens the show with a couple phone calls
Our beat cops Emmitt and Yusuf keeping the peace
Suzanna played multiple characters in the show...this was the first one
Sit-down! - Where's the loot?
Trinity as the Lieutenant
Trinity, Logan, Ben and Elliot in a heated scene
Rowan and Grace in one of the first scenes, and they really set the tone for what's to come...
Logan and Aidan had several great scenes together
Brody offering support to the kid, but the shop owner is torn..."he took the money"
Trinity Lynn and Logan played the doomed couple
"Who you calling a crum bum!"
Hank and Sam played the two burgalars that get the precinct rolling
Logan and Audrey Alt
Emmitt Killeen and Chris Kuse (in his first character) get their picture taken by Takeaki Enomoto a foreign exchange student from Japan who did a bunch of stuff with our department this year. We had a ball working with Takeaki!!! We'll miss him for sure.
Trevor Zink played the wise cracking janitor Willy, and he did great with the fake cleaning!
Trinity and Trinity and Colin play out this plot
turning scene like a well-crafted night time soap.
GO SEE A PLAY!!!
Check out the WG Drama Department's website
https://www.webster.k12.mo.us/domain/3749
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