Laura Zecca ’16: While EA sports teams began practice during preseason, another group of students has been hard at work since the summer, auditioning, memorizing lines, and learning choreography. This year’s Domino Club’s fall play, The Witches, includes representation of all grades in lead and supporting roles, making it a new and interesting mix.
Photo courtesy of Maggie Mendel ’17
Marina Rivera ’16 described the show as “interesting in that it’s about a group of witches but it’s not a fairy tale by any means. The witches don’t fit the ‘green witch pointy hat’ stereotype and while the play isn’t meant to be scary, it’s very ominous,” making it very appropriate for its performance on Halloween night.
The excitement is evident among both newcomers and veteran performers who have been working together six days a week to perfect the play. George Hawke ’18 is cast as one of the main roles in the show, an impressive feat, especially as a freshman. Asked about the role he stated, “I was very excited to find out that I was given a lead role but it also put me a little on edge being my own worst critic, I will often get frustrated with my inability to do something with the character and lose sight of the fact that it will all be refined and perfected in the end.” However, Hawke, like many other actors, has expressed the importance of camaraderie in the cast and crew under the leadership of Dan Clay, Chair of the Theater Department. Despite the busy rehearsal schedule, Hawke stated, “Each day I look forward to spending rehearsal with the awesome group we have created and I cannot even say how lucky we are to be working with Mr. Clay. Probably to say the least, this is, and will continue to be, a huge growing experience for me as an actor.”
The play promises to be a unique experience, and according to Bethany Bryant ’15 the whole cast is “looking forward to doing a show that’s a little different than the past two fall plays. The Witches is less comedic, so it’s been really fun to work on a different style play. There are also going to be a lot of special effects surrounding the characters of the witches, so I’m really excited for the tech crew to really showcase their talent in this performance.”
Emma Smith ’15 spoke of the growing excitement, explaining, “The cast of the fall play is really looking forward to performing our show over Halloween weekend. Audiences can expect an entertaining night that involves bald witches, mice puppets, and impressive technical elements. It promises to be a great experience for adults and children alike. Everyone should come see it!”
The fall play will be performed on October 30th, 31st, or November 1st in the Blackbox Theater.