Theater III and IV students performed an adaptation of the American literary classic To Kill A Mockingbird, the first of two dramas set for staging in Hanes Theatre during the winter season, from February 21-22.
The script, Christopher Sergel’s stage adaptation of the 1960 novel, maintained much of the book’s original dialogue, including the repeated use of racial slurs.
“We did use vulgar and explicit language during the show,” junior Angel Koshy, who played Helen Robinson, said. “We knew this might be controversial; however, we knew we had to [use the language] to truly depict the [setting] of Maycomb, Alabama in 1935, where these ugly words were the norm.”
Theater teacher Thomas Drago acknowledged that performing a show with strong themes surrounding racism required additional preparation.
“[The show] forces the students to confront volatile issues of racism, social injustice and the loss of childhood innocence that figure ever so prominently in today’s political landscape,” Drago said. “We spent many class periods holding difficult, yet valuable, conversations.”
While recent productions in Hanes Theatre, such as Midsummer/Jersey, have been comedies with vibrant sets, the dramatic historical nature of To Kill A Mockingbird yielded a more sparse set design in muted colors.
Senior Hadley Connell served as the show’s narrator, playing the role of Jean Louise, the main character and Scout’s future self.
“I was able to show how Scout changes as she grows up,” Connell said. “Jean Louise is not exactly like the version of herself in her memories.”
The use of narration influenced the staging, intended to reflect Jean Louise’s perspective on her own past.
“Since the show is written as a memory piece, we created a fragmented scenic design that gave the audience enough tangible details for the setting, while providing an opportunity [for audience members] to use their imaginations to fill in the blanks,” Drago said.
Senior Olivia Vrba saw the show on closing night.
“They utilized the houses [in the set] for all different scenes and that was cool,” Vrba said.
Senior Jason Glover, who played Atticus Finch, felt that the cast’s determination to portray the past accurately added uniquity to the production.
“Although this is often a rarity in high school theater,” Glover said, “the cast seemed to deeply care about crafting realistic, well-developed characters.”
Junior Harper Wilkinson, who acted as Dill, felt that the moral themes of the production allowed the audience and cast to connect more closely with the show’s material. He said the scene in which his character had to watch an innocent black man be found guilty of rape was the most difficult to play.
“I had to act like I was actually seeing an innocent man being oppressed just because of his skin color, but [acting out the scene] allowed me to grow as an actor and as a person,” he said.
The Great Gatsby, the second of the winter season’s two dramas at Hanes, will be staged March 7-8.
