On Tuesday, May 20, the Drama III/IV class will put on their annual student-run, student-directed show in the performing arts center.
Directed by seniors Maxwell Tienken and Olivia Reif, along with junior assistant director Nicholas Serrano, this night will be full of comedy and emotion in the two plays that will run about 45 minutes each. It is Tienken and Reif’s first time directing any show. They expressed that it has been a very fun and exciting process that has also been a learning experience.
“It’s a much better look at the behind-the-scenes supplies and logistics aspect compared to just the ‘go on stage and say your lines’ aspect,” Tienken said. “It’s definitely been fun but very different, and I’ve had a few new challenges.”
The show Tienken is directing, “Our Place,” takes place in a dock where five different stories become intertwined. In the end, the characters discover the bittersweet meaning of their stories occurring at the dock. This comedy drama is hilarious yet relatable, with its heartwarming scenes and the developed characters the audience gets to meet.
“I think it’ll be really fun,” Tienken said. “It’s nice to see all of the different kinds of shenanigans that people get up to.”
The second show, directed by Reif and Serrano, “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” is a comedy that follows two sisters who attempt to narrate the Brothers Grimm’s stories, but end up taking all of them and turning them into one big mega story, with well-known fairy tales such as Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel.
“The audience can expect a hilarious show [that] is immersive with the audience, so audience participation and lots of fun stuff with that,” Reif said. “[The show] is hilarious and super fun, and they’re going to be laughing a lot.”
The show is entirely led by students, from the curtain being opened to the costumes seen on stage. It is a big responsibility, and for the directors, collaboration has been key to being able to put on a smooth-running show.
“If [Olivia and I] have an idea, we agree upon it, and we’re both super flexible when it comes to it,” Serrano said. “If we do come across something that’s a little bit more difficult to decide, we just work it out [and] really simple [because] we work and communicate with each other really well.”
The students have worked hard to put on two great acts for the audience. Tickets can be found at cur8.com, and the show will start at 7 p.m.
