Head of School Day on February 3 did not deter students from lining up in front of the Theatre Classroom to see three Drama Labs.
The three productions, “Lunacy,” written by David Tylinski ’12, “The Good Girl” written by Keely Henesey ’12 and “Do-Overs,” written by playwright Larry Hamm, provided enduring entertainment as frequent witty remarks kept the audience laughing.
“Lunacy”
First up was “Lunacy,” directed by Anna Stacy ’13. The performance centered around an argument between three astronauts who debate about who should jump ship to save the space ship they are on.
In the play, Klaus, played by Graham Johns ’14, seeks to manipulate Captain Vladimir, played by Elezhan Zhakiya ’12, to make Stephen, played by Vincent Mocco ’15, jump ship.
Klaus talks privately to both Vladimir and Stephen and attempts to make the two turn against each other so that his own safety is ensured.
In the end, Vladmir and Stephen become annoyed with one another. However, when no immediate actions are taken, the barbaric Klaus threatens both Vladmir and Stephen with a knife.
Johns said of his performance, “My favorite part was when I got to lose control, scream insults and point a knife at the other actors.”
Audience member Annika Neklason ’13 said, “The performance was compelling and was entertaining, as you got to see manipulation first hand.”
“The Good Girl”
The next play, “The Good Girl” written by Henesey and directed by Margaret Curtis ’12, presented the story of three friends, Dan, played by Michael May ’13, Nate, played by Bernhard Fasenfest ’12, and Hallie, played by Frances Yackel ’15, who are in an entangled relationship involving love and drugs.
When Dan fails to buy alcohol, he obtains other drugs and tries to get Nate to do drugs with him.
Meanwhile, Hallie, who secretly likes Nate, tries to discourage Nate from doing drugs.
Hallie soon musters her courage to confess her love to Nate, who happens to fancy another girl, Arianna, played by Isabella Flynn ’15.
Sophia Lloyd-Thomas ’14 said, “The play was a comedy that had a subtle, serious message. I liked how the character Hallie cared about Nate despite knowing that he had feelings for another girl [Arianna], who obviously didn’t care about him.”
“Do-Overs”
The last play of the night “Do-Overs,” written by playwright Hamm and directed by Susannah Hyde ’13, illustrated the theme of eternal love.
The characters are nameless in the play, as the play is set in after-life where they await to be reincarnated.
In the after-life, a woman, played by Bianca Navarro-Bowman’15, argues with a man, played by Andries Feder ’13, who had ended up in the after-life due to a car accident caused by drunk driving.
The woman shows her anger at the past mistakes that the man has committed, but soon after, she also reminds herself of the love she and the man shared in several of their lifetimes and brings the argument with the man to rest.
A little girl, played by Kaitlin Poor ’13, helps the two characters remember the love they had for one another despite their numerous fights.
Feder said, “I thoroughly enjoyed acting in this play, as it is a performance that intertwined both love and anger.”
