Can ordinary streetlamps stick out as individuals? How can a young orphan boy stand up to the very people that wronged him and discover the secrets of his past? These two unique questions and many others were answered last Friday night during a pair of highly entertaining drama labs. Two talented directors and their able casts worked meticulously to put together amazing shows, both of which were performed on Friday April 7th in the Theatre Classroom. The shows were “The Emporium,” directed by Dan Adamsky ’06, and “The Individuality of Streetlamps,” directed by Molly Shoemaker ’08. Written by Thornton Wilder, “The Emporium” is an innovative and thought-provoking show about a young orphaned boy named John and the search for his identity. Throughout the show he travels from the Amanda Gregory Foster Orphanage, to the Graham Farm, and finally, to the Emporium. Andrew Yankes ’08 was originally cast as Mr. Foster and Mr. Graham, but due to factors beyond the cast’s control, Yankes was unable to make the show and director Adamsky stepped in at the last minute, pulling off an amazing show. Meghan O’Connor ’07 played Mrs. Foster and Mrs. Graham, Evan Delgaudio ’08 played the orphaned boy John, Michelle Nguyen ’07 played Mr. Conover, and Sarah McLean ’06 played a member of the audience. Radka Dancikova ’09 and Kristin Spiak ’08 both helped out as stagehands, and Kym Louie ’08 worked as stage manager. “We have an amazing group of people with an amazing director and stage manager,” commented Dancikova, “While a lot got done at rehearsals, everyone had a blast and the atmosphere was wonderful. I really like the way the play progressed and I really hope that the audience enjoyed it when we performed it on Friday night.” Nguyen, performing in one of her first plays, said “I just tried out for the drama labs for fun for the first time last term,” “For me, it has been fun working with everyone and a lot of the kids acting in The Emporium are really talented. Dan, the director, really knows what he’s doing; he’s clear about what he wants and how he wants it, which is really helpful to the actors, stagehands, and most of all, to the overall product, the show.” Molly Shoemaker’s show, “The Individuality of Streetlamps,” was a dramatic piece centered around the components of lost love and regret. The characters Andy and Melissa, played by Julian Azaret ’08 and Kaitlin Freedmen ’08 hold a difficult romantic background together, but after years of being apart, realize they have fallen for each other once again. “The message of my show is wanting something that you can’t have,” said Shoemaker. Since Andy was already married, the two characters shared awkward moments of realization and an almost kiss that could have ruined everything. Shoemaker commented, “My reason for choosing the show is that the last play I directed, Sure Thing written by David Ives, was a comedy and I really wanted to try something different, so I picked a more dramatic piece. The script seemed really true to human emotions, which is why I liked it.“ “I thought the show was amazing!” said stage manager Libby Hambleton ’08. “I just came in to learn the technical part of it on Wednesday, two nights before the show, so I was amazed at how put together the whole thing was by the time I arrived. I think the show turned out to be great, and it definitely reflected how hard the actors and director worked. They did the show over and over again, re-practicing scenes multiple times until everything was perfect. I never realized how much work went into a Friday night drama lab!” The work put into both shows was extremely evident on Friday night. It made for a brilliant pair of performances.
