Colonia High School’s 2018 fall play, Our Town, was performed on November, 14, 16, 17 at 7:00 P.M. Directed by Candida Montalvo, the show sold more pre-sale tickets than previous fall shows. Words to describe the play are deep, meaningful, and real. 

Our Town is a 1938 three-act play, written by playwright Thornton Wilder. It’s a fictional story showing citizen’s lives throughout the years 1901-1913. The play shows how you can’t take life and its experiences for granted.

Compared to other extra curricular activities, theater and drama isn’t seen as something as important to the majority. While talking to the cast members, the hard work that’s put into the plays and musicals is comparable to that of a sports team. High school theater has more to it than just rehearsal. It takes a lot of time, patience, and dedication.

Throughout performances, mistakes happen.  Sophomore Marcus Som stated, “When there’s a slip up on stage, I know someone else will have my back and improv. You have to go with the flow with whatever happens. Always stay in character and you’ll be fine.”

Playing a lead role requires more memorization from the actors. To get ready for a big performance, Kelly Branco said she likes to “sit backstage when no one’s there. It’s really quiet and I can hear the sounds of the audience.”

First Impressions

Before the show I discussed with the cast on what their first impressions on “Our Town” was. “I didn’t know what it [“Our Town”] was, until I looked it up and then I watched it online. I thought it was pretty good, it has a very deep meaning and it’s a classic.” says senior Kelly Branco, who plays Emily Webb. When discussing the characters of  “Our Town,” sophomore Tyler Benson said, “Amanda, who plays Stage Manager, is always on stage and has such a difficult role but the way she embodies the character is really interesting. She makes the part hers and owns it.”

“Our Town” is known to be a depressing performance. Senior, Ryan Campbell stated, “It definitely isn’t as elaborate as other plays I’ve done in Colonia High, but it is interesting.”  He described this play as “mundane” compared to others.  The upperclassmen decides that “Our Town” is definitely the hardest one they’ve come face to face with, “I think it’s the second hardest because I’ve never played such a serious role before, I’ve always been so happy-go-lucky but in this story it’s different,” mentioned Kelly Branco.

Going into the technical aspects of a play, lighting is an extremely important addition to any performance. “Our Town” has some very emotional, raw, scenes. Having the right color and opacity during a scene helps the audience get more in touch with the characters and their story. Shane Walsh, lighting manager, states, “When you enter the lighting booth, it’s really cool to see the whole show from above. You create art with the lighting, and display it for everyone to see.”

The cast and crew of Colonia High School’s 2018 Fall play put in a lot of hard work and determination. Hopefully you got the chance to experience it.