“You’re discharged, and you’re discharged and you! You’re discharged too!” yells senior Chris Nasser, who plays Horace Vandergelder, as he rehearses his role during an after school practice of “The Matchmaker.”
In preparation for the Oct. 10 opening night of the show, Nasser and other students have been practicing for the past three weeks. Unlike previous fall play rehearsals, the cast of “The Matchmaker” has had only three weeks to prepare, far shorter than the usual six weeks.
The fall play, which consists of four acts and lasts around an hour and a half, completed its first round of performances, and cast members look back proudly on their rehearsals. Because of the shortened time between auditions and shows due to the earlier planned showtime in the school year, practices were longer and busier, lasting two and a half hours instead of the normal one and a half in order for the cast to be ready on time.
“The decreased rehearsal time definitely made the process a lot more frantic, mainly because everyone had less time than they are used to with fall play practices,” said junior Emily Ludwig, who plays the character Irene Molloy.
With an intricate set and costume, actors and actresses with over 100 lines, and longer practices, each scene was only rehearsed about three to four times before dress rehearsal.
“Even with the busier rehearsals, the quality of the show has not been impacted,” said junior Nina Nelson, who plays a musician. “[Drama teacher Sarah Thermond] found a way to add some music with the show, and have it blend perfectly to the plot. I think that the audience will really enjoy the added music.”
The show is set in four completely different locations, and the tech crew had to figure out how to create these sets. In the end, it was decided that all of the set pieces would be dual-sided and that doors and windows would fly in from the rafters above the stage.
“It was a really smart and creative idea to make the set movable, and it creates a really cool effect during the show,” said senior Nastasya Kutuyev, who plays Dolly Levi.
The costumes are just as complex, as each actor has to have his or her own unique hat and period appropriate outfit.
In the weeks leading up to the shows, actors often spent up to seven hours in the McAfee Center during their dress rehearsals.
“It’s been really stressful,” Kutuyev said. “You can tell that we’ve had less time to rehearse, but I don’t think that we’re any less prepared.”
With new aspects of the play and less time, having dedicated and talented actors and actresses pays off, said senior Dan Kawadri, the stage manager for the show.
“The cast takes their job very seriously, and this amazing lineup of people have made the show the success that it is,” Kawadri said.
