Last year, the theater department was plagued with clear masks, socially distanced blocking, instrumentalists not in the pit and multiple casts, but now as the world is slowly returning to normal, the shows must go on.
The most anticipated show of the year has always been the musical as it is the first main stage performance of the year. With PV’s amazing facility and talent, the school has been able to successfully perform shows ranging from classics like “Kiss Me, Kate” to newer musicals like “Carrie: The Musical” to less well-known shows like “The Theory of Relativity.”
This year, PV is performing the ten-time Tony nominated show, “Urinetown.” The show, a comedy, satirizes the legal system, capitalism, corporate mismanagement and a lot more. After a twenty-year drought, the government has enforced a ban on private toilets. Instead, the citizens must use public amenities in which they pay a fee to one malevolent company to pee. Amid this crisis, one man steps up to lead a revolution for the goal of freedom.
For freshmen like Lauren Lundie, who’s last show was performed under COVID circumstances at the junior high, she is extremely excited to have been cast in this production.
In response to the musical and how rehearsals have gone, Lundie elaborated, “This musical is definitely very different from what the audience would expect us to perform. We have a really great cast, and a lot of people who invested time outside of school into learning the choreography.”
There are a few main differences between the functions of this year and last.
First off, PV is lucky to produce enough instrumentalists within their band and orchestra departments to staff a pit of student musicians to play all of the accompaniment for the show instead of using tracks.
When looking at the stage, audience members can see what looks like a gaping hole in the front of the stage. Down in that pit is Brian Gartner, conducting his musicians as the actors sing and dance on stage.
This looked a lot different than last year because in order to abide by social distancing rules, the pit had to set up camp in the first few rows of the house. Now, the musicians can return to their rightful home in the pit.
The instrumentalists were not the only ones who had to socially distance themselves, the actors had to make accommodations too.
The show, “The Theory of Relativity,” was picked because it was extremely forgiving. Actors rarely interacted with each other which reduced the amount of close contact people had to make. Along with this, the set was created to ensure each actor could have their own platform.
There were also two casts that performed on separate weekends to minimize cast members on stage while ensuring those who wanted to participate could.
Now, actors have been given blocking to interact with each other throughout “Urinetown” because this show was chosen without thought of social distancing.
Similarly, shows last year did not have any choreography because the social distancing expectations would have made presentable song and dance numbers practically impossible. In contrast, “Urinetown” is filled with dancing, making many very pleased with the show selection.
Lundie, who’s lucky to be the Assistant Dance Captain said, “There are so many entertaining dances throughout the show that have been incredibly fun to learn and perform, and I’ve loved helping others learn them as well!”
The hardest part to overcome last year was performing while wearing masks. For students at PV, the transition to wearing masks full time during the mandate was a challenge, but for the drama department’s performers, it was much greater.
Facial expressions are vital in an actors’ performance, so when met with the risk of losing that key ingredient to a great performance, PV purchased clear plastic masks for everyone to wear.
These were a constant battle.
Every day, each actor would have to spray anti-fog spray onto their mask, tape it to their face so it would not slide down and deal with a muffled sound.
For this year’s productions, masks are optional and most people are choosing to go without them for the duration of the show.
Last year, the students in the drama department experienced highs and lows with the uncertainty that theater would ever be the same.
As one of the four seniors performing on stage and one of two that have been involved since their freshman year of high school, Grace Engstrom is pleased to be back on stage doing what she is in love with.
“Theatre has been a staple in my life since I was 12 years old and is now what I am going to do for the rest of my life. Last year was truly a struggle as we were limited in what we could do with theatre and we had to get creative and make adjustments due to COVID,” she said. “Being back to a more normal schedule is such a blessing especially for my senior year. I could not be more excited to be able to close out my PV Spartan Drama career with this upcoming season of opportunities”
Come see “Urinetown” at PVHS on Nov. 4 and 6 at 7p.m. and Nov. 7 at 2p.m.!
