We are thrilled to present work that comes directly from the classes being taught in the Theater Department. This is something we have tried to accomplish in the past and mostly we have worked with various one acts, but this semester we went for it and produced two full main stage productions from the Advanced Theater Productions class. The students were excited to take the challenge.
Bex Derr designed the poster for the show.
It is a wonderful illustration that includes all of the characters we meet during the show.
Half of the class produced a Don Zolidis play called The Greek Mythology Olypiaganza in the WG Black Box Theater the first weekend in April. This was our standard Spring slot for many years, and the students worked throughout the end of Feb and through March preparing the work.
A slide Mr. Schaefer made to get the word out as we waited for our official designs
THE CAST
Mark Ellsworth
Sage Finney
Bex Derr
Charlotte Snell
Casey Drillingas
Colette Giezentanner
Kalon Robinson
Kaitlyn Patten
Sam Miller
The breakdown of scenes and which actor was to play which part.
We determined this very early on so that we could guarantee each actors
was on stage with a similar amount to memorize.
(Mr Schaefer did most of this work to avoid any unnecessary drama in the cast.)
The slide we used on the hallway monitors for extra PR push
The poster was reorientated for this by Bex so that we could keep our branding consistent
Bex even turned the design into our T-Shirt design for the show
Kaitlyn Patten and Sam Miller played the hosts for the evening
and attempted to teach the audience about the Greeks.
REHEARSALS
During 7th hour the class was able to work on each scene in the play, and the cast mostly directed each other during the first month of rehearsals. Mr. Schaefer joined them the last week to help polish the transitions and assist in clarifying some moments.
Mr Schaefer working with Kalon and Colette on a moment in the Pandora scene
and we used lighting to assist in the more "theatrical" moments
Casey played a lot of parts in the play,
but his version of "man" was hilariously over the top!
The Narrators really kept the show moving and would interrupt the scenes or help the actors keep the scenes moving. They provided context and additional facts when needed. Sometimes they were right and sometimes not...
Kaitlyn and Sam had great chemistry as the narrators
They found many moments in the show to take jabs at each other,
and they get some great laughs!
Mark Ellsworth (Hercules) and Sage Finney (his Mom)
The show provided the actors a lot of opportunity to play a lot of characters.
The cast took full advantage and gave each of thew characters voices and costume pieces
that really helped the audience follow the various stories.
Mark and Charlotte Snell playing out one of Hercules many jobs.
Of course super strength and massage don't go together well.
It helped that Casey knew how to play guitar for this show...
The props in the show are a major piece of the puzzle, and they are used to help bring a laugh or help the audience with the context of the story. All of the props were pulled from stock, brought in from the cast's homes, or they were made for the show. Since this was the 2nd time we had done this piece, we did have several odd props we were able to use again.
and crazy wig always helps the actor find this kind of character.
This particular show gave our actors a chance to play big and go for the laugh. This broad comedy style is something that takes a lot of rehearsal to get right. Physical jokes have to be built and set. The actors had to risk failure in front of their peers to find the laugh and the style. Once we knew the joke landed we had to lock it in for the audience. This takes memorization and repetition.
the monologue about getting too close to the sun was a moment for Sage to shine!
We were in the WG Black Box and had the opportunity to use projections to get the audience to various locations. Sometimes they were very specific. Sometimes we used Greek inspired patterns.
This was a very funny take on the myth, making many modern pop references
like the 80's movie "Say Anything" ...
This is a promo video Kaya Wolf made for the cast and it was put on Instagram to get word out about the performances, but to also let the cast share out some of the process.
THE SET DESIGN
The set used a floorplan that allowed for fast transitions between stories
There were lots of entrances and exits for the actors to make appearances from and then disappear when needed. The scenic design gave the stage picture a lot of levels, allowing the cast to get tall and also come down into the audience. It gave the narrators many perches and places to linger during the stories. The base was the stage we always have up in the Black Box and we added to that structure for more acting areas and we also added some columns for a bit of "Greek" realness.
We hid many of the props on the set at the very beginning so that they were where we needed them when the scene had a character needing something in the scene.
There were a ton of props in the show and the actors spent one whole rehearsal just tracking them into one of four categories. Stage left backstage table , Stage right backstage table, back of house table, or on stage in a specified place.
The prop tables were ordered by when the props were used and Mrs. Dickens helped us track them to the tables so that we could easily repeat the show's set-up each night
The stage left area (hidden from the audience with a temporary curtain)
There wasn't a lot of space backstage, but the cast made it work!
This is a promo video Kaya Wolf made for the cast and it was put on Instagram to get word out about the performances, but to also let the cast share out some of the process.
THE SHOW
Kaitlyn and Sam kept everything rolling right along
The "Dream Team"!!!
The titans scene about Chronos eating the babies
They even go to therapy!
The creation of Man...
He's a REAL Boy!
Man first has to learn not to hunt and kill woman...
Of course the Cops are called...
This couple is really struggling to keep it all together
Hercules tries to find a job
Masseuse...nope
STORYTIME
Bedtime stories are fun...
He is rather distracted by his work in the lab
Icarus gets a pair of wax wings ...and flies to close to the sun!!!!
Apollo doesn't like his son's new girlfriend So he has her killed by a snake
but ultimately it his music that really gets things going...
Hades likes his sound and wants to make him a recording star
THE LAST GREEK STORY
First they have to teach the narrator the rules of combat
IS ONE OF WAR AND LOVE!
Go team!
The Romans vs the GEEKS!
but Menelenaus is already with Helen
The narrators tell the story of the final war with Beanie Babies and other stuffed animals
THE END
Curtain Call!!!
The Cast of "The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza"
(From left to right: Charlotte, Mark, Colette, Kaitlyn, Sam, Bex, Kalon, and Sage)
THE TECHIES
We were very fortunate to have two students join us on the production that were not in the class.
They both had the availability during 7th hour to come to the Black Box and rehearse with the cast.
Connor Long...........................Stage Manager and Light Board Op
Conner joined us several weeks to be the cast's stage manager/promptor. He also became a pair of eyes on the show and offered advice when needed
Luca Thies...........................Sound Board and various Foley Op
Mr Schaefer ran the slide show
from the very back of the house using a remote
SPECIAL THANKS
to Kaya Wolf for the promo vid and taking rehearsal pics, Teddy Woldow for the show shots, Mrs Dickens for the togas and helping with all of the final tech (and sewing like a queen!), the ushers and box office helpers (you know who you are),
and to the administration for their support of our theater program
CHARLOTTE SAYS
"GO SEE A PLAY!!!!
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