People cramming to memorize monologues and walking around the hallways talking in weird accents. This can only mean one thing: auditions and rehearsals for the spring play have begun. This year, director Jon Copeland selected “You Can’t Take it With You,” a 1930s romantic comedy that was later turned into a movie of the same name, which starred the famous actress Jean Arthur. This show is different than those Copeland has chosen in past years, having previously preferred classic scripts in the form of Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice” and Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Auditions for the show were held after school on Monday, Jan. 28 and Tuesday, Jan. 29. In auditions, those who are trying out must perform a 2-3 minute monologue in front of the shows production board, which consists of Copeland and assistant director Jerry Howard. Once all of the auditions were complete, Copeland posted the call-back list on his website. This list consisted of actors he wanted to either see perform again or perform a specific role. Call-backs were held after school on Wednesday, Jan. 30 and Thursday, Jan. 31.
The cast list was posted on Copeland’s website on Sunday, Feb. 3. In response to the small number of actors needed for the show and the large amount of people who auditioned, Copeland created two separate casts in hopes of giving more people a chance to have the experience of performing in the play. Each cast will get two shows: the nicknamed “James Stewart” cast perform on Wednesday, May 1 and Friday, May 3 and the “Jean Arthur” cast will perform on Thursday, May 2 and Saturday, May 4. The leads of the play are as follows, with the actor in the Jean Arthur cast first and the James Stewart cast second:
Alice Sycamore: senior Allison Mackey and senior Megan Marquardt
Tony Kirby: senior Alec Santaularia and sophomore Adam Segura
Penny Sycamore: junior Madison Plouvier and junior Tori Kilkenny
Martin Vanderhof: sophomore Brady Franklin and sophomore Clayton Kistner
The entire cast list for both casts can be found here.
As a regular in the school’s theatrical productions, I am excited for the challenge of performing in a show of a different style than those I’ve done in years prior. Not only will the show itself be fun, it will also be a good experience for all involved. It will be difficult having two entirely separate casts, as this means that each cast will get half the amount of time to work with Mr. Copeland and will have to spend the rest of their rehearsals working with our student directors. However, I have no doubt that we will be able to overcome this difficulty and put on a wonderful show come May. I will be posting weekly updates in regards to my cast’s progress, so keep checking back to see where we’re at in the production process.
