Drama’s curtains coming down

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Photo by: Serena Sotelo

Mr. Winterstein conducting sixth period practice in preparation for the ongoing performances.

Doors opened at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday night for the Cam High drama department’s final production of the year consisting of three student-directed one-act plays.

The first play being performed, The Twilight Zone: Five Characters in Search of an Exit, is directed by duo Matthew Schroeder, senior, and Zachary Thatcher, junior. The production re-enacts one of the more famous episodes from the classic TV series The Twilight Zone by incorporating suspenseful, dramatic elements.

The second play, called It’s Not You, It’s Me, is a comedy directed by senior Nick Castro and features various break-up scenarios from 11 different couples. “Compared to past productions, this one is a lot more fun because it’s my own,” said Castro. “Not only am I directing one, but I’m also in all three.” Castro is believed to be the first person in Cam High history to have been in every drama production of the school year.

The final play of the trio is Greek Mythology Olympiaganza, directed by juniors Stefanie Chordigan and Sarah Gay, and takes a comedic and satirical twist on Greek mythology.

“Opening night was fantastic,” said Naomi Wolfrey, senior and cast member. “It was one of the best [performances] ever.”

“There were more people than we were expecting,” said Bryson Lund, also a senior and cast member. “It was a Wednesday night, so we thought not a lot of people were going to come, but we had almost a full house.”

As with any school play, there were difficulties involved in the planning due to the complexities of planning multiple plays simultaneously. “It was very different from any production we’ve ever done because we have five directors instead of one, and three plays,” said Schroeder.

Putting on a three play production isn’t exactly easy work, according to actor Perry Johnson, senior. “Rehearsals go to around six o’clock, and depending on how many plays you’re in, you can have up to three rehearsals a day,” he said. “It takes a wear and tear on you, but at the end of the day it’s definitely worth it.”

Possibly due to this “wear and tear,” some cast members quit before opening night. “We had a few people drop from the show last minute, but we ended up getting some people to fill in, and they’re fantastic,” said Gay.

For several actors and actresses, it was their first time performing in a school production.

“It’s a lot different than just the class, because in a play we actually become a lot closer. It’s more like a family than the class normally is,” said senior Mikaela Hurshman, who had her first roles as one of the 11 girlfriends featured in It’s Not You, It’s Me and Eurydice in Greek Mythology Olympiaganza.

Senior Austin Torrence also had his first acting role as one of the 11 boyfriends in Castro’s play.”I thought I was going to screw things up, but I didn’t, and it went very well,” he said. “Opening night was much more successful than I expected.”

Very little money was used to develop the productions, which relieved many members of the drama department, as they receive no funding from the school. “We didn’t spend a lot of money when it came to the set – it’s mostly just paint,” said Castro. “We made so much money because we spent so little, and so many people came on opening night. Opening night had more people than I had seen all year”.

The production will continue to be shown through Saturday, starting at 7:30 p.m. each night, with a 15-minute intermission between the second and third plays. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. All Access Passes cannot be used for admission.