A show within a show- that’s exactly what the newest drama production “Curtains” was all about. The cast of “Curtains” played actors who were trying to create a rendition of the play “Robin Hood.” Chaos ensues when the leading lady is murdered. Throughout the production, the cast and crew of “Robin Hood” are trying to deduce who committed the crime. “Curtains” takes place behind the scenes of “Robin’ Hood,” but the behind-the-scenes of “Curtains” altogether showed a cast and crew dedicated to their craft as they tried for months to pull off a show unlike any other.
Behind the scenes, actually putting together “Curtains” took several months of effort from the cast and crew doing a variety of specialized jobs. All the audience saw was the final product, but the backstage prep was diverse, hectic, and time-consuming.
“We had a preliminary audition before winter break, and a more decisive audition in January,” said junior Kyle Ronyecs.
As the stage manager, it was Ronyecs’ job to keep the rehearsals and the shows running smoothly, making sure the actors were where they were supposed to be and calling the queues for lights and curtains.
After the auditions in January, rehearsals immediately followed. Keeping to a tight schedule, practices ran almost every day, starting with basic music and dance lessons to blocking the show on the stage.
“The snow days definitely were a struggle because they got in the way of rehearsals, but we were able to catch up eventually,” said junior Sarah Novak.
Novak, who was a feature dancer, also had the role of choreographing part of the show. According to Novak, the dances in “Curtains” stood out from previous plays because the dancing was a lot more technically difficult.
Two major aspects of any play are the props and the costumes departments. Junior Malia Graciani and sophomore Hailey Parker-Combes worked behind the scenes to create any kind of prop an actor would need and all the outfits the actors would wear.
“Being the costumes crew chief, I have to create pieces and make the whole show look good costume-wise,” Parker-Combes said. “I’m also an understudy for the character Carmen Bernstein, which is great because I get the experience of what it’s like to be a lead and develop the character without the pressure of going on.”
Without the long rehearsals (which often last until 10 pm), the various departments putting in hours to create original art pieces in costumes, sets, and props, the long dance and singing rehearsals, and all the staging and directing of the specific character movements, “Curtains” could not have happened. Audiences only see the production of “Robin Hood,” but the end result displays all the work that has been put into “Curtains” behind the scenes, whether the audiences realize it or not.
