*Written by staffer Daniel Harper*
A line of guests filled the hallways of the fine arts building Friday, waiting eagerly for the doors to open around 7 p.m. Meanwhile, actors hurried backstage to get in order, counting down the minutes until showtime. Students running the technical aspects of the performance also worked quickly in the sound booth and around the set to get everything up and running before the start of the show.
Junior high’s “When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors” performed their second night at the blackbox theater Oct. 23 after a nearly sold out show the day before.
Around 7:30 p.m., stage managers gathered the actors to get them in position. After a short and enthusiastic speech by fine arts director Clay Cartland, the lights dimmed, music faded in, and the show began. Actors backstage huddled in front of gaps in the curtains to watch their friends kick off the play in the first scene.
The show is a humorous depiction of a poorly planned and executed middle school ‘Wizard of Oz’ play where everything goes wrong. With many accidents, patchy and improvised costumes, set failures, and funny arguments between the actors on-stage, the audience was full of laughter with every act.
“It’s been long and hard,” Maddie Zhuravel, the lead stage manager of the show said. She has been guiding and supporting all the people involved in the show for weeks, starting with planning and rehearsals and leading up to the three days the show runs. “It is a difficult job, but it’s also been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life,” she said.
The hour and a half show ended with a cheerful applause and a bow from the crew of the show. Many parents waited for their students outside the theater with flowers, waiting to congratulate all of them on their hard work.
Eighth-grade actor Robert Kurtis gives a pep-talk to the cast of the show before they go onstage. (Photo/Daniel Harper)
The cast pose for a picture behind the curtains before going onstage for the first scene. (Photo/Daniel Harper)
Robert Curtis (farthest) and Maddie Zhuravel (closest) operate the soundboard before the show starts. (Photo/Daniel Harper)
