WGHS Theater Past Shows (Fall 2006-Present): 2025 Spring Play #4

The last play in the festival was ART by Yasmina Reza. This too was a script we had read over the years and finally we got a team to tackle it. It is originally imagined by the playwright as three men, but we decided to try it with three woman. It was a classroom acting project and the whole festival was an experiment. This felt right.

The display case outside of the library was used for all of the four play's marketing.

A lot of students come and go through those doors and see this case more than most.

THE CAST

Micah McCoy......................................as Serge (Sarah)

Jeni Carr-Schwartz...............................................as Yvan

Chloe Vincent.......................................as Marc (Martha)

Chloe, Micah and Jeni

THE CREW

We were very lucky to have Freya Adkisson and Selby Caldwell join the show

to help out with tech and stage management duties.

Freya Adkisson Selby Caldwell

They also ran lights and sound for the run.

REHEARSALS

The cast started in the smaller practice rooms and eventually got to move into the Black Box once the 2nd play closed. The stage was the perfect size for this play and the wall we put up allowed the actors to play three different apartments with offstage front doors.

The show is written so that the three characters break out of the story and talk the audience directly.

We decided to give each of the characters a color. When the character broke the fourth wall the stage would turn their color and they would be picked up in a spotlight. We also added a "whooshing" sound effect to transition from the reality to the unreality of the moment...and then back again.

Chloe breaking the 4th wall as Marc (Martha)

(Jeni's character) Yvan's color was blue

Micah's character's color was green.

The blocking in the show was difficult to get established because essential the play is a conversation play, but we didn't want the stage picture to get stagnant. Justifying movement in the scenes and keeping it natural looking and organic was not easy. The actors did great!

Jeni and Chloe in a scene at Yvan's apartment

We were able to repurpose a wall from another play that had a really nice modern rock texture. The paintings for each character's apartment worked well on it's neutral tones.

We also moved the furniture around to create three different looks

Micah backstage behind the wall...

it was a very small space, but we made it work

There were various costume pieces and props that had to also be tracked. The cast did a great job being their own set crew during the run. It made for quick transitions.

This cast really built some amazing chemistry between the characters,

it helped the actors all knew each other pretty well going into the project.

When all three characters are on stage together the sparks began to fly!

THE SHOW

Box Office and House Management was provided by Owen Dickens and Easton Woldow.

They worked the box office for each of the plays!

We really appreciated their dedication to the festival

We always put up sandwich boards to help the student body know we have stuff showing in the theaters. The Senior entrance area gets most of the traffic

so it is a great place to get the word out we have a show.

The cast of ART

Chloe Vincent, Micah McCoy and Jeni Carr-Schwartz

Costumes were pulled from our department's stock and

we used the character's lighting colors to inspire their outfits.

The way the characters relate to each other and

struggle to find connections is what makes this play so approachable...we all have moments like this in friendship. As we get older it becomes tough to stay connected.

The set allowed for full stage pictures with everyone placed and

it also provided options for a lot of movement around the furniture

Building triangles with people and their faces on stage is a common blocking and staging theory to create visual interest for the audience. When you have three characters it makes it easier to do.

Hair and make-up was also fun!

They all had to be very different people in the story...each actor really tried to make their character unique in their look, based on the truths revealed in the script.

THE PAINTING