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The crowd erupts into applause as the curtains come to a close at the front of the stage. Heavily breathing due to a physically-taxing end scene, the cast sighs with relief as they realize all of their hours of practice have finally paid off.
The theatre program performed their UIL One Act Play “Frankenstein” on March 20. Advancing past zone, the first round of UIL performances, the cast and crew were extremely excited to get another chance to perform at districts on March 23.
“I could barely believe what I heard after [it was] announced that we were advancing,” freshman Zack Williams said. “It was crazy. Being one of the only freshmen in the show and also [being] a lead definitely put pressure on my shoulders. I knew that the only thing I could do was my best, but that was until I started to think what if my best was not enough? I was feeling like I could never amount to being what [everyone else] thought I was. Although, after hearing that announcement, I realized that maybe I have something going for me after all.”
Last year, the program performed “The Children’s Hour” and were disappointed when they realized the play did not advance past zone. Taking this year as a chance for redemption, the cast and crew poured hours of hard work into preparing for the moment they would get to show everyone what their program was really about.
“As my last show, it was such an accomplishment and a milestone to hear that we were advancing past zone,” senior Michael Zolidis said. “It was a very rewarding moment and I wouldn’t have wanted to end my senior year of theatre any other way.”
During the casting process, about 50 students came to audition for roles, with about three or four auditioning for each part. After performing his chosen scene for his audition, senior Cayden Bartolo said he was stoked to learn that he would play Frankenstein.
“Oh man, I was on cloud nine,” Bartolo said. “Getting the lead was definitely an achievement because I’ve always wanted to be the lead. I had a lead in freshman year but because it was COVID year, I wasn’t able to perform in front of people like I would have liked [to]. This play has a lot of drama, a lot of emotion and a lot of physical movement, which I was excited and prepared for.”
As the weeks got closer to the UIL performance, rehearsals were four days a week for four hours at a time. The entire program would run through the play multiple times in one rehearsal, attempting to perfect every scene.
“Every rehearsal was like a workout,” Williams said. “Since my character rarely stopped moving at all and involved a lot of stage violence, it was a struggle getting through. Every full run-through ended with everything feeling sore and feeling exhausted out of my mind.”
As the cast and crew spent hours upon hours with each other preparing for the play, friendships developed. Bartolo believes that the reason this play did as well as it did was because the on-stage relationships between the cast was not just acting.
“I worked a lot with my cast members outside of just rehearsal,” Bartolo said. “Previously, I would just show up to rehearsal and go home. But, I stayed in contact with all of my cast members throughout the play so we could talk. I tried to stay connected with those people so that on stage, our friendship seemed more realistic and genuine.”
Dominating the awards this year, the UIL One Act play received Best Technical Crew overall, and senior Katie Higdon received All Star Crew. Additionally, junior Kaitlyn Moore and senior Cadence Teicher received honorable mentions for All Star Cast. Sophomore Anson Schalles and Bartolo were awarded with All Star Cast for their performance.
“Our play’s technical elements were more advanced than other schools in our area,” Bartolo said. “Our set, makeup, and costumes really made the play what it was. Especially as an actor, whenever you have the costumes and the makeup, you can really feel your character.”
Considering the gore and violence within the play, the air felt tense and gasps could be heard from the audience, according to Bartolo. For Bartolo and the rest of the crew, the audience’s reaction was the best part of the performance.
“I enjoyed being a part of [the play] and seeing it come together,” Zolidis said. “From backstage I was able to hear the occasional gasp from the audience, which was super cool to know that they were enjoying something we had put so much time into.”
The success that boomed from this play was largely due to the choice of “Frankenstein”. Differing from many plays in the past, “Frankenstein” was new and exciting for the directors, cast, crew, and audience.
“This play is pretty macabre, being one of the most classic horror/tragedy stories of all time,” Williams said. “I’ve never really heard of anything like it being done at CPHS, other than our yearly haunted house, and it was a really special process that I hope will remember for a long time to come.”
