For the first time since 2010, the theater department is putting on an official winter play open to all students for auditions. 

Following the 2010 show, productions were put on periodically with a thespian-only show in the winter of 2017 and a series of repertory theater shows in February of 2019. Though, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed these theater productions. Now, the department is able to put on a full year of shows, including the return of a winter play. 

According to drama teacher Jonathan Copeland, the chosen play for this year was performed by the repertory theater group six years ago. This play will be a smaller, avant garde style piece called “Too Much Light makes the Baby go Blind” written by the Neo Futurists. It will take place in the little theater as opposed to the PAC. 

This unique piece had brought about positive opinions from several theater students, including junior Riley Martin, who is a fan of the writers. 

“I love the Neo Futurists,” Martin said. “I saw them in Chicago and I was like ‘I want to do that so bad’.”

According to senior Carter Harvey, many theater students were surprised when they heard about the winter play.

“Most people were shocked,” Harvey said. “They didn’t realize we were doing it until we heard it on the announcements.”

With the addition of another show, Copeland shared that participation in the spring play could be affected. Some students may choose to audition for the winter play to better align with their schedule. 

For theater students who do participate in the winter play, coordinating rehearsals may be difficult. 

“The challenge is finding time to rehearse. Some of my most solid, dependable acting kids are already in two rep shows in December, and they’re in the musical in November,” Copeland said. “But there are kids who will relish in that because [they] like to do shows 24/7.” 

For Martin in particular, she is glad to have something scheduled for the winter season. 

“I am so excited [to do this show] because usually after the musical is over, the two months where you don’t have anything to work on is depressing,” Martin said. 

Despite the possible challenges, theater students are looking forward to producing something different. 

“It’s a lot of different little plays all in one,” Martin said. “I’m so excited to push my limits.”

Because the winter play will be out of the ordinary, Copeland feels that it will be a positive experience. 

“The material is really fun. It’ll be interesting to see it come to life again,” Copeland said. “Because it is avant garde, [it’s] unlike anything else we do here at the Valley theatrically.”