By Andonia Goergen
Executive News Editor
Kelly Fraenkel
Staff Writer
Costa’s Drama and Tech Program presented its two fall plays, “Spoon River” and “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” in a virtual setting throughout the month of November.
“Spoon River” was an adaptation of “The Spoon River Anthology,” a collection of poems by Edgar Lee Master. The play is a series of posthumous monologues delivered by the residents of the fictional Spoon River, Illinois. The performances occurred on Nov. 7, 13 and 14 at 7 p.m.
“My experience was good. We all had a lot of fun together,” junior Madeline Fraenkel said. “It was odd to be on Zoom, but we tried to make it as similar to in-person rehearsal as possible. It was great that we were able to have the play this year.”
The lead cast of “Spoon River” was comprised of seniors Francesca Barile, Ema Brown, Gabriella Papera and Travers Tobis; juniors Madeline Fraenkel, Dylan Kircher, Gigi Panzarella, Aashna Patel, Sage West and Hannah Wolfgang; sophomores Jack Searer and Ashley Calza; and freshmen Sofia Lanza and Emre Tanner. Costa’s Drama/Tech teacher Jonathan Westerberg directed and produced “Spoon River.”
“This is an entirely new format for presenting narrative pieces,” Westerberg said. “I had to learn how to maximize the features in Zoom and had to explore how to physically space students behind the cameras and create effective lighting using whatever they had in their homes.”
The second play, which had viewings on Nov. 6, 12 and 14, was “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” by Don Zolidis. The dramedy combined a plethora of different Brothers Grimm fairy tales into one hour-long play. Most of the actors played two or more characters and had to do their own costume changes, Zoom background changes and prop handling.
“I think that, amongst all of the long and tedious rehearsals, this process was consistently filled with fun, laughter, teamwork and unity,” English teacher and director of “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” Maddie Hutchinson said. “I am incredibly proud of the student cast and crew involved and very thankful for the hardworking and supportive adults behind the scenes. I hope everyone looks back on this experience with a huge smile and deep satisfaction for what we created together.”
Among the cast were seniors Alex Fliszar and Fiona Okida; juniors Kate Bacon, Ella Mendelson, Isabella Dolim, Grace Heroux, Charlotte Estrin and Jordan Krinsky; and sophomores Matalee Brown, Lia DeFonce-Martini and Lizzy Fleming.
“Overall, this show has been a great learning experience, and we have all had to adapt a ton to be able to create a show that we were proud of,” Fliszar said. “I was able to bond so much with some of my other cast members, much more than I had expected to be able to virtually.”
Viewers purchased tickets online and watched the plays via the streaming service Broadway On Demand for “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” and via Open Broadcast Software for “Spoon River.” However, the actors performed the shows on Zoom, allowing the tech program to select when certain actors went on stage. Auditions and rehearsal also took place via Zoom meetings, Hutchinson said.
“There were many challenges, big and small, that came about throughout the process, but I’m proud to say that everyone involved in the show worked diligently and creatively to overcome them,” Hutchinson said.
Due to the cast members not being in the same room during the scenes, the performers and crew faced some challenges, according to Fliszar. Some of these challenges included the unification of everyone’s lighting, positioning on camera and virtual backgrounds to ensure that everything ran smoothly.
“It was a challenging one, but there was something comforting about bringing people together while we were apart,” Westerberg said. “I’m glad we did this. It was unique and demonstrated that art can thrive in compromising conditions. I am so proud of the students for having the courage to take this challenge and for lifting themselves up throughout the process.”
Leave a Reply