Thank you for coming to see The Plot, Like Gravy, Thickens! This show holds a lot of firsts: my first show as the full time theatre program director for West Catholic, my first time directing a murder mystery, many of our actors first experience with improv, several actors first time on stage, several of our crew members first time backstage or in the booths, and the biggest cast for a fall play that we have had in a long time.
Believe it or not, the cast managed to put this show together in only 6 weeks. That amounts to just about 48 hours total of rehearsals. For a show that runs about 2 hours long, this is a big achievement! The students have taken everything I threw at them, including minutes long monologues, lots of character work and improv, and even the techincal nightmare of "killing" someone on stage and knocked it all out of the park. They not only rose to each challenge, but they far exceeded my expectations at every turn. This show contains a moment in the second act where the audience gets to interact with the characters, and improv can be difficult to practice for. They have been doing a great job in rehearsals and I am so proud of them! I cannot wait for you to see what we have been working on.
I want to especially acknowledge and thank Owen Ellis; he designed and built his own special effect for his character at the end of Act 1. I am glad the script gives him a chance to show it off a bit in the second act. A thank you to Tim Nawrocki as well, for allowing Owen to make this a part of his Pre-Engineering class assignment!
I would also like to thank WC administration for recogizing the importance of and investing in the arts at our school. West Catholic’s patron Pope Saint John Paul II said in his Letters to Artists: “Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation—as poet, writer, sculptor, architect, musician, actor and so on—feel at the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it at the service of their neighbor and of humanity as a whole.” I am delighted to be able to cultivate my own “divine spark” in this community. One of the best parts of my job is watching kids grow from timid auditionees to absolute stars on the stage. I have seen that happen in this show in particular. These kids continue to astound me with their talent and maturity, and I am so honored to be their director.
Finally, I want to thank Doré Furstenburg and Randy Wyatt, without whom I wouldn't be doing this.
