DIRECTORS NOTE
Ms. Shannon Spicer
I have to admit, going into this school year I was holding my breath with the hope that we would be able to return to live theatre. I moved the show up two weeks and jam packed the rehearsal schedule to ensure that we could perform as early as possible...just in case.
I am thrilled that you are here with us, reading this in person and are able to return to the magic that only live theatre can bring.
My goal this fall was to pick a show that would hit one specific target audience, our students. The past two years have been such a roller coaster for all of us, I wanted to ensure that the show I picked would be one that would allow our students to laugh, see themselves in the characters on stage, walk a few steps in someone else's shoes and see life from a different lens.
This show does just that.
It's a tough show to do in just six weeks time, its a tough show to do period. However, working with all of these amazing actors and designers, it turned into an incredible journey. It was a celebration of being able to collectivley collborate, build and create a story together. Designers, actors and technicians were running around, creating monsters, building massive sets, learning how to fight with swords and all the while they had a smile on their face.
I love this job, after 20 years of teaching in the same school and the same classroom I am always in awe of what my students can create. Their enthuiasm is contagious. Their ingenuity is unmatched as I watch a group of over 50 high school students and all of our technical theatre & design students create the show you are about to see this evening.
You will travel along with our main character Agnes and we ask that you leave the bold line between reality and fantasy behind. Her adventure is not always easy, as she is faced with harsh realities and circumstances she cannot control.
One of those circumstances involves scenes where LGTBQIA+ teenagers are physically harrassed and have horrible and heart wrenching insults and threats thrown at them. It's a hard story to tell, but it's an important story to tell. The actors in those scenes had to push past the fact their characters were delivering such hateful rehetoric while they personally disagreed with everything those evil characters were created to be.
Journies aren't always easy. Adventures come with challenges. Monsters come in all shapes and sizes and we face them with the help of those we hold close. So we invite you to travel with us tonight, on an adventure of harsh realities intertwined with magical fantasy and friends to help us laugh through the darkness along the way.