Nov 2020 - April 2021
The WG Drama Department at Webster Groves High School decided, that due to the pandemic, we would produce a show with a smaller cast in the Spring in hopes to have a LIVE audience back in the theater. We bet big, and it paid off! We got some of our veteran actors in the department to take on the production and did not hold an audition.
Laura's glass unicorn.
Glittered and painted by Cat Draney
We knew that not only staging a production in COVID, but trying to stage for one of America's greatest playwrights would be a huge challenge for the department. The audiences did come out for it and we kept them safe in the balcony of the Auditorium.
Everyone who worked on the show would agree that it was tough,
but definitely worth it in the end.
Poster Design by Mr. Schaefer
We safely opened Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie to preview audiences on April 7th and ran 3 performances April 8th, 9th and 10th for audiences of about 35-50 each night. They were temp checked (until our batteries crapped out the final night), masked, seat tracked, and distanced in the balcony section only of the Jerry R Knight Auditorium. The cast were also masked (in tan colored masks specially ordered). We ran the production on a skeleton crew to avoid too many bodies in one room.
The monitors around the school were used to help promote the show to the reduced number of students actually on campus each day.
We were curious how many people we would reach with our PR campaign.
We started the process in Nov 2020 after a table read with the cast and the crew. It was decided to have Mrs. Pettey (our brand new drama teacher) direct and Mr. Schaefer produced/tech directed. A week before the show opened, Ms Pettey had to hop into the part of Amanda. It turned out great and the audiences really enjoyed the production.
The Cast and Crew of WG Drama's The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
It was nice to be back in the theater for a LIVE production in over a year. You could feel the energy in the room each night as we felt that sense of community and the energy of the story being told by real living people and not through a TV set.
THE CAST
Ms. Alexandria Pettey as Amanda
Mr. Alex De Foy as Tom
Miss Ava MusGraves as Laura
Mr. Ian McCann as the Gentleman Caller (Jim)
THE STAFF
Ms. Pettey - The Director
Edrie McGowan - Stage Manager
Mr. Schaefer - The Producer/Technical Director
Adreonna Grant - Pr Marketing Mgr / Designer
THE CREW
Amelia Griesedieck - Lighting Designer
Flynn Wolff - Follow Spot
Zeke La Mantia - Sound Design / Mic Board Op
Sadie Moore - Sound Board Op
Catalina Draney - Properties Mgr. / Scenic Running Crew
Mj Ryan and Margo Oliphant - Costume Crew / Dressers
Adreonna Grant - Balcony Manager
Jaden Fields - Photobug
Lauren Perry and Jaden Fields - Box Office Mgr(s)
REHEARSALS
We started in November and began rehearsals in the Black Box Theater. We used some rehearsal furniture and props as we got our heads into the play.
Ms. Pettey (Director/Amanda) worked very hard on the staging of the show and was an extremely organized director. Her prompt book was highly detailed, color coded and she never stopped thinking about each moment of the story. She ran a very tight rehearsal schedule and we were lucky to have her at the helm on this project.
She eventually moved to the balcony to see how
the show was looking at that perspective.
We also had a student director on the production.
Sienna DeSuza has been working in our theater department since freshman year as an actor, designer, writer and director. She joined the production early on and worked directly with the director and tech director focusing on dramaturgy and helping with various scenes/staging.
Sisi Desuza (student director), Sarah Bailey and Rosa Schnell (ushers)
right before the show started Friday night
REHEARSALS MOVE INTO THE AUDITORIUM...
Once we got into March we were in the Auditorium and the set only went up about a week out.
Alex was very excited to get the show to move into the Aud for rehearsals!
The cast was ready for it, and the show really started to take shape and find it's grove when everyone was navigating the doors, steps and backstage areas. We used the whole stage and even brought the action into the house.
Rehearsals required the actors to memorize a lot of lines. This play was very thick and had a lot of emotional moments. It also asked the actors to really find the humor and humanity in the characters. The author was a master at complex character journeys in the plot. Each character struggles and it is argued that none suceeds.
MARKETING
Right away Mr. Schaefer designed some posters for the show. Each poster represented one of the characters in the play.
This was Laura's and this was Amanda's.
Claire McCarthy helped with props during the first several months and then stepped into the role of Amanda for several weeks of rehearsal, memorizing several scenes and getting to work with the cast.
She also designed the T-shirt and that also became the Program cover.
Claire is a veteran in the theater department,
has been involved in most of our productions and always works incredibly hard.
Claire's Design for the T-shirt that the Cast and Crew wore the week of the show.
THE SET
The initial design for the set by Mr. Schaefer
The Technical Theater class in Term 3 built the entire structure in three days of class and Mr Schaefer finished it with the help of a smaller crew after school in the evenings.
Catalina "Cat" Draney working on the Victrola that was needed for the set.
The wallpaper was done by a technique that uses spray paint, tape and a strip of fancy lace.
The Set was entirely dressed from our stock room furniture and soft goods. We also got to finally use the wonderful sky drop that we were gifted from Webster University several years back. It is a beautiful cloudy sky airbrushed onto a canvas the size of our cyc.
We went shopping for a few props and costume pieces but not nuch at all. We spent most of our money on batteries and food/bev.
The couch was a donation from a student's aunt several years ago and this is it's second production.
No more time for rehearsals.
Lights got cued, set was dressed, props were on the table, the costumes were paraded and the sound effects were added...
Let's get the microphones on the actors!
Zeke getting his head in the game...time for mics!
Zeke at the sound board in the orchestra section. Jaden is with him.
The audience sat in the balcony.
Edrie, Alex and Ava before the show vibing on the set...
Margo and MJ prepp'n their fast change outfit backstage for Amanda in Act II...
and it was a fast one!
Outside the front door of the apartment
From the entrance Stage Left / the bedroom hallway
It is SHOWTIME!!
The Backstage Right area, and Edrie and Cat's work zone for the show. There were quite a few technical difficulties we had to over come, but the cast and crew did a great job rolling with the punches each time we encountered another hurdle
Olivia Hotse joined us for a night to learn the roped for next year!
Sisi takes a break on the set before the audience comes in Friday night!
GO LIGHTS!Flynn was new on the follow spot and this show had a lot of cues...
This was Amelia's last main stage show as lighting designer, and the stage was lit beautifully!
Letta, Amy and Fynn at the cue to cue
BACKSTAGE BEFORE THE SHOW!
Ms. Pettey and Ian backstage getting ready before the show in the Black Box Theater. The cast and crew uses that space as the green room when we are in the Auditorium for a play or musical. It works out.Ava was having fun in Laura's dress and her Farrah Fawcett hair!
Ava, Edrie, Alex, Sadie and Zeke getting pumped up before the show starts!
Cat and Ms Pettey right before we got warmed up.
The HOUSE
The Senior Display Case and Marquee for the show
We used a Google Form to track the audience members in attendance for each night.
We also temp checked and used santizer. Adreonna Grant was our Balcony Manager, and she collected the information from each audience member to help with contract tracing if it was needed after the audience left. She made sure the audience stayed distance and masked.
Lauren Perry and Sam Messena working the Box Office
Mr Schaefer and Sisi out front for the curtain speech Friday Night
SHOW PICS
We are thrilled to have had this opportunity to play in this story and share the lesson of Tom Windfield to a St. Louis Audience. It is a special piece of our history and a special play in American Theater's canon of work. We can only hope to have the chance to do another play by this amazing Missouri author.
Our Mr. Wingfield says...
"GO SEE A PLAY!"
