The theatre program is back in full swing with this year’s fall production, A Good Old Fashioned Big Family Christmas. This follows the success of Annie, the program’s first musical, in April of the last school year. Auditions for the play are being held on September fifth and sixth and are open for anyone in the school to try out.
A Good Old Fashioned Big Family Christmas follows Judith Stewart and her sisters as they plan a Christmas party to fix their parents’ budding rift. However, when their parents mistake everyone’s kindness for secretly having the same issues, members of the family are trapped being suspiciously nice to each other. Antics are sure to ensue when all of the misunderstandings have several members of the family putting on an act. How will the family keep it up? Will the truth be unveiled?
“It’s a comedy,” theatre director Anthony Coffield said, “and I’ve always wanted to do a Christmas show.”
No previous theatre experience is required for auditioning. Anyone looking to bring this comedy to life is encouraged to try out. However, in order to be eligible to audition, students must sign up for a time slot and have a completed audition packet, which includes a progress report, audition form, and a signed actor contract. Everything can be found on the bulletin in the back of the performing arts hallway, next to the theatre classroom in 405. During the audition, students must choose a 30-60 second comedic monologue from those that were prepared for theatre to perform. Scripts cannot come from tv or movies.
Fourteen roles are available for this play, a larger amount compared to the nine roles in last year’s fall play, Out of Sight, Out of Murder. Nine roles are female, and five are male.
“This is the first straight play I’ve ever cast that has a larger cast,” Coffield said. “I’m creating larger shows to get more students involved in the program.”
Students are already looking forward to auditioning for the play. Those who participated in previous plays are hoping to land another role and continue their acting careers.
“I want to do acting in the future, so this really prepares me for the outside world,” Ari Endrizal, who was in last year’s production of Annie, said. “Coffield is very realistic, because it’s exactly like auditions are in the outside world.”
For students who are thinking about auditioning but are still holding back, fear not! The program itself promotes a positive environment where all students are encouraged to express themselves.
“You’re never going to know if you like it or not if you don’t try,” Coffield said of any students who are thinking about trying out but are still unsure, or to the students who are auditioning but are nervous.
