The Performers
2016 Freshmen Project is a performance of firsts: the first freshen class to perform in the new Beacon School, the first performance ever to happen in the new Black Box Studio, and the first FP to perform two full plays back to back. Anyone who is familiar with the Freshmen Project knows that the students, in the past, have been split up between smaller scenes and skits. This allows students an easier rehearsal schedule while they navigate their new school. We were ambitious this year and not only chose only two plays, but also cast them as such that nearly every actor is on stage during both shows. I asked a lot of these actors this year and I am happy to see them rise to the occasion.
The Plays
Both This is a Test and This is a Text approach the pressures teenagers face in scholastic test taking with an air of ridiculous that makes, thankfully, my own memories of tests far more bearable. The strain of thinking about grades, college acceptances, peer competition, extracurricular activities, and caffeine intake is familiar to all who went through any sort of education in this country. I apologize in advance if these plays bring back any less than fond memories of tests or engender any fear of future exams, but if Alan and Sophia can make it through unscathed… mostly… then I think we all can, and will, survive.
