WGHS Theater Past Shows (Fall 2006-Present): 2025 - Spring Play #1

The Advanced Acting Class of 2024-2025 decided to tackle 4 full length plays in the Spring. This was definitely something we had never done before, and we probably won't this again for a long time. The department always likes a good "theater" experiment. We had a ton of great scripts for small casts that we had been reading in class over the years. It's hard to put a small cast show in a "main stage" slot cause it limits the number of kids that get the opportunity.

This year turned out to be unique. The Auditorium was taken from us for a year of tech updates (Yes, you read that right). So we had to work out the season in our smaller venues. It seemed like a good time to tackle some of the small cast scripts.

FIRST UP: OLEANNA by David Mamet

The poster we hung up around school to get people talking...

These particular plays perfectly fit the students in this class. Each play provided an actor in the class with an extremely challenging role to bring to life on stage. These were multi-awarding winning scripts and the best of the best actors have taken on these roles on Broadway and in the movies. The actors in the class read all of plays and immediately fell in love with their stories. It was exciting to see the small casts come together with each of these plays.

The Cast of OLEANNA in the Black Box, working with the props and set pieces.

We moved the platforms onto the north wall so as to accommodate all of the plays best.

The bulletin board outside of the library was used to market all of the shows we produced in the class. This is a great intersection on campus and a lot of students see what is in that display.

The first play to open from our two months of classwork, was Oleanna a tensely written psycho-drama by the great American dramatist David Mamet. Set in the office of a university professor, this story put the audience on the wall like a fly; allowing them watch these two people get caught up in misleading opportunities, far too much life stress, and ultimately bouts of revenge.

Luca Thies (on the left) and Spencer Buchanan (on the right)

The Set Design for the play was kept simple and the lighting included some practicals. The play moves really fast and the audience doesn't need a lot of scenic distraction, just the essentials.

Mira Thies was the stage manager for the daytime reahearsal cause she had a study hall hour that lined up with their classtime rehearsals. She also ran the tech during the show.

Rehearsals were spent running lines and adding more actions to the lines. This cast worked so hard on memorization, the playwright writes like people talk and the dialogue gets fast!