Fall plays open this Friday, Saturday

This Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., the school presents two plays in the auditorium: Elephant’s Graveyard and Breaking Badly. 

Michelle Rathe, one of the theater directors, said this year’s fall play is much more “intensive” than last year’s. With every actor having a speaking role, more imagination and acting is present throughout each set. “We didn’t have to worry about some of the COVID interventions. This year is more cast interactive where they’re constantly on the stage all of the time,” Rathe said. 

Elephant’s Graveyard, which is based on a true story, is set in Tennessee and follows a circus throughout the country. The performance reflects on animal cruelty and how people react to it. 

The second performance, Breaking Badly is a comedic performance about relationships breaking apart and how others respond to the breakup. 

With last year’s COVID restrictions, the audience was limited. Previous years had attendance reach up to 1,000-1,500, in some cases, and shows sometimes sold out. This year, tickets are $4 for students and $6 for adults. Activity passes can get in for free.

Rathe said that a couple of the costumes were bought, such as the ringmaster’s outfit. Other costumes were simply sewn from past performances and reused. One of the performers, junior Skylar Zimmerman, said, “We try to just rummage through the clothes and pull out whatever. About half of it will get rejected, but we’re just trying our best.” 

Auditions for the performances were submitted through a video in snippets, which was easier for the directors to compare different parts for each character. “I like how this works because it gives the actors a chance to practice and record it themselves. We also didn’t have to do callbacks this year with a smaller group involved,” Rathe said 

Around 45-50 students are involved in this year’s play, with about 30 on-stage performers. The cast relationship can be described as chaotic at times but ultimately familial, said cast member Sophia Woods. “We are all enclosed in a big confined area for three to five hours a night, and we can get a little insane sometimes. When you spend that much time together you’re gonna get closer. There’s really no drama that goes on, except for the stage,” Woods said.