Theater, whether it’s professional or at a school level, is a creative outlet for all students to participate in and enjoy. However, developing a character’s performance and acting style can be irritating and long-lasting.
“When playing the foreman, I focused on how he stepped into his position of power and his failing efforts to control his frustration with the disorganization of the jury. During the show, I found that asking myself questions about how the foreman’s perspective and actions compared to the other jurors’ helped me to step into his mindset more clearly. Throughout the rehearsal process, we developed the relationships and opinions our characters had with one another, which made the performance feel more natural,” Stephen Schranz (11) said.
Emotions on stage have a great impact on the performance of a play or musical, and acting in a character’s persona naturally is very important, but difficult. Many of the play’s actors had to work together and spend hours alone individually working on their lines.
“It was important to consider that each character had a multi-faceted, flawed personality—like a real person would. To me, it was the most difficult to reconcile my character’s classism with her desire for order and respect. For me, it helped to find the softer aspects of my character.
In such a small show, it was easy to bond with our directors and each other. It was a heavy show, and while it was important to take it seriously, we all made sure to check in on each other and make sure no one was too stressed,” Kasey Barron (12) said.
While all of what the audience sees is the acting on stage, much more hard work and dedication goes on behind the scenes. Spending hours working lights, creating set pieces and costumes, and working the soundboard, the set crew greatly impacts the play’s performance.
“My role in the show was set crew captain and our main goal of this show was to try and create the juror room where the 12 jurors will be determining if the boy is guilty or not guilty.
The most important aspect of set design is to capture the setting of the whole show and bring the play to life. For the set crew, we have practices on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but we have enough time within those hours to get everything done for the set. If needed we would come into PtE to work too, if needed, but luckily this show was able to be finished outside of school,” Lili Zarakas (12) said.
