Chapel Hill High School’s drama department performed Red Velvet Cake War in Hanes Auditorium October 3-5, roughly a month-and-a-half before the typical fall performance debut.
Due to construction at the school, Thomas Drago, the theater teacher, was asked to have his class out of the C building by April, which affected the theater department’s performance calendar.
“We had to push up all of our plays and musicals sooner,” Drago said. “The first play of the year usually happens around Thanksgiving, but now it is happening in early October.”
Michael Ray Williams, a local actor, director and writer from Raleigh, was hired by Drago as a director to teach the students new techniques and give them real-world experience.
“As a teacher, I have limited exposure to the acting world. Working with Michael has allowed the students to learn more and improve their skills,” Drago said.
The comedy play features the main character, Gaynelle, played by junior Olivia Ingledue, dealing with her recent divorce.
“It was a great few weeks,” Williams said. “Nobody is new to acting here, and I’ve enjoyed seeing the show come together.”
The Southern accents weren’t too hard for the cast to perfect before the show since the play is set in Texas. Most students in the cast have acted in previous school plays and act outside of school as well.
“The whole cast has great energy, and we all work very well together,” Ingledue said. “The script is also really funny.”
The performances were intentionally scheduled so that students, parents and faculty could go to one of the shows, as well as attend the homecoming game and dance.
“The play was fantastic. It was so funny and a nice Southern play, something we don’t always get to see at Chapel Hill,” senior Erin Malloy said.
Over 200 people came to see the play.
“When I was backstage watching the show take place, I was laughing with the crowd, even though I had seen the play plenty of times before,” senior Sarah Honeycutt, who played the role of Bitsy, said.
Given the time constraints–students had just over a month to prepare for the show–the cast and crew said they did better than they hoped.
“Actors made sure they had their lines and accents perfected, and the crew worked hard on getting the set and cues completed for the performance,” student director Angel Koshy said.
The cast is already rehearsing for the next Hanes show.
“I am very pleased with how the show turned out. It was a success with the students and audience,” Drago said. “Putting the pressure on the artists makes them step up their performances and practices. We already started practicing for the next play, which opens in a month. I like to have these quick deadlines because everyone worked well under pressure.”
