Whether holding up an interesting dog portrait or our set’s walls, frames are an essential feature of this year’s fall play. The Play That Goes Wrong is a play-within-a-play, also known structurally as a frame narrative. This is a type of story that has one or more stories inserted into the main story. For example, on the outside we have the structurally unsound frame of The Play That
Goes Wrong. On the inside, we have the play that is being performed The Murder at Haversham Manor. We also have you, the audience watching the performance of a play performed by WHS students, which in itself has the ability to go completely wrong in an unplanned and unscripted way due to the nature of live theatre. This means we have the possibility of real-life mishaps and mistakes! Don’t worry, we were confused at first too! Over time we accepted that this production, like life, is multilayered and we delighted in its complexities. Truthfully, we’ve had too much fun– if that’s even possible! We hope that you will also lose yourself in the farcical comedic moments and leave with an appreciation of the great lengths theatre artists will go through to make sure “the show goes on.”
In their playwright’s note, creators Lewis, Sayer, and Shields remind us that “the need to tell the story is essential for these characters [in the Cornley Drama Society]. They take their roles and their objectives seriously.” These characters will do whatever it takes to get to the end of The Haversham Manor, each for their own personal reason. Oftentimes, this means moving past moments that would stop a normal cast of people in its tracks. Instead, these characters do whatever it takes to keep moving forward, even when sometimes it feels like they are only going backward. Considering what our theatre communities have overcome during these pre- and post-pandemic years, we picked the perfect show to illustrate the joy and pain that results because of our immense love of theatre.
Dr. Enza Gionnone-Hosig
SPECIAL THANKS
Tony DiBari, Westfield Principal
Terri Towle, Westfield Director of Student Activities
Vanessa Hunter, Westfield Director of Student Services
Westfield Custodial Staff
Westfield Fine and Performing Arts Team
Westfield Theatre Boosters
ALL VOLUNTEERS who picked up a paint brush, scaled a ladder, posted a flyer, sewed a costume, donated food, and helped support the students and department.
