The play itself started at 12:30 with all grades from sixth
to twelfth in attendance. Students sat
enrapt as the actors brought the play to life.
After the play was over, the students were part of a question and answer
period during which they asked the actors questions such as “How hard is it to
play different characters and what changes do you have to make when you do
so?” To which the actors answered, they
had to think about each individual role, and the women who played men’s parts
also added that they had to think about the differences in how men and women
move, gesture, and speak in order to play their roles convincingly. Another two-part question the students asked
was how the actors got into acting and how long they had been acting. Each actor gave a different answer ranging
from being a munchkin in the Lollipop Guild to starting out in dance and
branching out into acting afterward. The
final question that was asked was “If someone wishes to get into acting, what
are your recommendations?” The actors
answered with a variety of answers which included watching people all the time
to understand how they move and why they do the things they do, taking all
their classes seriously and learning all they could about the world around
them, to respecting each person that one works with and learning why and how
those individuals believe what they believe.
The entire school worked hard to be prepared for their
visit. I would like to thank Mr. Spady and Tara McColloch for helping coordinate
everything before the play and on the day of it so everything ran smoothly. I would like to thank Rick Reese and the
whole custodial department for helping us set up and figuring out how to best
plan the day. I also would like to
extend thanks to the teachers who allowed their students to miss class in order
to attend the workshops. I would like to
thank Dana Fisher and the other ladies of the cooking staff for being flexible
and having their lunch ready early so the show could go on. Also a big thank you to Cole Kramer, Nick
Koppman, Noah Lake, Blake McCormick, Brexton Robertson, Mark Schwartz, Mason
Zorn, Connor and Chandler McCord, Hayden Riedel, Shaun Richards, and Jacob
Iverson as well for helping to load in, set up, and load out. You all made the day work so well. I would also like to thank Dr. Sissel for
writing the grants that made this day possible.