Arts
PAGE 10
Holiday 2015
“Try to Remember” a “Fantastick” Show
Cari Ross
Staff Writer
A wooden stage, a
brown chest full of surprises, a trunk of props center, and a white curtain
covering what is soon to
be revealed--The Fantasticks. As the lights dim in
the renovated Studio Theater, the audience quiets
in the close knit space
that creates a more personal experience, making
them part of the story.
The lights switch on and
the show, deeply personal to some, and new to
others, begins.
“The Fantasticks“ is the
world’s longest-running
musical, and through the
help of the wonderful
director, Karen Culliver
(Louisa in the 25th revival of the Broadway
production), musical
director, Christopher W.
Smith, and with advice
from Culliver’s daughter,
Madison Claire Parks,
(currently the standby of
the Mute and Louisa in
the off-Broadway production), the performers
revived this show with
professionalism, energy,
and respect for the original performance.
The first to appear in
the musical is the Mute,
a silent character who
never speaks in the show,
but adds to each scene
by becoming a set or
placing a prop to add to
the story played by senior
Bottom Left to Right: Yoomi Kim (‘17), Ryan Lloyd (‘16), and Zac Balagot (‘17)
Top: Noah Clements (‘17), Jessica Schreiber (‘17), and Jack Murphy (‘17)
performing the opening song “Try to Remember” in the Studio Theatre
production of “The Fantasticks”
Photo courtesy of: Cheryl Walsh/alt-senior.com
Jessica Schrieber (MT).
She sets up the stage,
pulling the characters
on, each appearing in a
way that represents their
character type. Louisa, performed by junior
Yoomi Kim (MT), dances
on stage--dainty, quirky,
and naïve portraying the
heroine.
Matt--junior Zac Balagot
(MT)--playing the cu rious
and adventurous young
boy in love with Louisa,
runs on stage. With each
young adult, comes
their father, opposites
of one another, played
by seniors Jack Murphy
(MT) and Noah Clements
(MT), who walk on doing
what they both love, gardening. Finally, El Gallo,
played by senior Ryan
Lloyd (MT), appears in his
all-knowing glory ready to
navigate the story.
As each character
appears on stage, they
draw the audience in,
taking them to a new
place, and pulling them
into the action. The use of
the small space and simple props was very effective such as the confetti,
which represented different forms of weather such
as rain, snow, and to add
to Louisa’s adventure in
Act 2. Production and
Design, did an amazing
job with lighting effects
to add to the seasonal
changes that take place
throughout the show.
El Gallo (Lloyd) begins to narrate the show
breaking the fourth wall.
Lloyd was not only personable, but had wonderful comedic timing
and a strong voice that fit
his character well.
Halfway through the
show the audience was
surprised by the sudden
appearance of Henry,
the old actor--senior
Ronald Kinloch (MT)--who
popped out of a box
that had been onstage
the whole time. Old and
disheveled, with a pompous personality portraying
a Shakespearean actor,
he was immediately followed by Mortimer--junior
Jordan Boggess (MT)--the
Actor’s assistant who specializes in death scenes.
The two both did a
superb job in bringing
their characters to life,
and truly embodying their
challenging yet playful
roles.
The actions and struggles amoung the characters led to a refreshing
end that left the audience feeling renewed
and meloncholy. The
compassionate love
between Matt and Louisa brings out the child in
heart of everyone, teaching the audience how the
conflicts of a relationship
can help two people to
grow and become closer.
From the quirky characters, adventure, laughs,
and love, the cast of “The
Fantasticks” drew the audience in, taking them to
a new place and leaving
them with the satisfaction of a beautifully performed show.
Both the onstage
and offstage work, truly showed, resulting in
the cast’s well-deserved
opening night standing
ovation.
Spooky Scary Scribes: CW’s 24-Hour Scarefest
Nina Cereno
Staff Writer
It was Halloween once
again, which means
that the annual Creative Writing 48-Hour
Scarefest came back to
haunt OCSA for another “fang-tastic” performance.
Scarefest creative writers were each given 48
hours to write a ten minute play using “spooky”
lines of dialogue, characters, and objects.
This year the most
popular prompts were
a “hipster Frankenstein,”
“a hairball,” and the line
“Baby, it’s not just Duran
Duran who’s hungry like
the wolf.” Scarefest writers then referenced these
in their original works.
Forty-eight hours may
be long enough to fly to
Translyvania and back
but it is actually a really short time to write
and gather actors for
a play. Junior Madalyn
Watson (CW), an actor
in junior Michelle Wang’s
“Creepy and Co. Entertainment,” shared her
experience during the
process: “As soon as I
got the script, I sat down
and read through it with
the other cast members.
The only type of prep
we did for the show was
read through it again on
stage and into the microphones.”
Even with a limited time
of prep, writers pulled
through the stress and
created nine “boo-tiful”
play works.
Scarefest seemed
like a one-conservatory
show because most of
the plays were written,
directed, and acted by
students of the conservatory.
Junior Hannah Robison (CW) was proud
to see her friends and
“impressed with most of
the playwrights because
[she] had never read or
heard their work before.
It made [her] realize how
lucky [she is] to be in
Creative Writing after and
I had the chance to see
how talented all of the
students are.”
Some of those who
stood out were writers
who not only used the
given line of dialogue,
but also created their
own memorable quotes.
Senior playwright Ben
Wolk, in “Frank and the
Skull on a Stick,” used not
only a kooky title, but the
line “rustle behind the rustling bushes” was equally
entertaining. Senior Lani
Kording (CW) had such
quirky quotes like “Being
in a band is like a journey” in her play “Greatest Hits,” that the actors
themselves couldn’t
contain their laughter.
The way that Scarefest
writers played with words
thoroughly entertained
us all.
Overall it was fun to see
the writers’ creativity in
each play. The audience
was able to watch werewolves and cats working
together against animal
cruelty in “Hungry Wolf”
by seniors Blue Fay and
Sophie Neely, monsters
slaying narrators in junior
Isaac Lee’s “Conservative
Creatures,” a new formula for talking cats in junior
Julia Jorgensen “Animation 101,” and re-encounter Egor in junior Sinclair
Adams’s “Dr. Crysta Frankenstein.” The wittiness of
this “Halloweenie” writing
fest was full of so much
zaniness that audience
members could not stop
laughing.
It truly was impressive
to see how these plays
evolved into wicked tales
in this year’s 48-Hour Halloween Scarefest.
Junior Cat Bennett (CW)
as Undyne from the
game “Undertale.” Bennet was a reader in the
Creative Writing Scarefest in October.
Photo by: Sinclair Adams