By: Melanie Erspamer
Apart from basic information, there was only an eyeball on the poster of this year’s freshman play, Self-Portrait. This simple image, though, along with the name, managed to convey the meaning of the show.
As always, the freshman play was a compilation of several 10-minute segments coming from other pieces—this year’s had 9 different scenes. Through these, the director, Becky Price, hoped to showcase a variety of themes that could be understood by many.
“Each play is relatable to someone in some way,” stage manager and sophomore Emma Spector said.
The clips focused on different themes, all of them reflected many of the common hardships in life. One was about a woman who feels that, in order to fit in, she had to buy a pair of extremely high and sexy red stilettos.
Yet another had three girls representing three generations in the lifetime of one woman, who with age, slowly sees her dreams disappear. Others focused on themes such as reincarnation and a group of failing superheroes.
“The theme of identity has allowed us to explore our personal connections to the characters on many levels, which has been very gratifying,” Price said.
The actors in the skits were not the only ones who are trying to find each other, though. For the actors, this represents their first foray into high school acting, and for the director, this serves as her debut.
Prior and in addition to this, she fulfills the role of drama teacher at Oak Hill Middle School. She hopes to continue directing plays at South. “It’s nice to work with all my colleagues in a new context,” she said. “Instead of being fellow teachers, they are now my producers and such.”
The freshman play, however, was not a simple production. Apart from having many novices, it is the only show at South where no auditions are required.
“There is a wide range of experiences, which makes it challenging but rewarding,” Price said.
For the freshman, it was a mostly positive experience.
“It’s kind of an intro to all other plays,” freshman Isaiah Freedman said. “I get to start out with people my age.”
This is one of the reasons why freshman have such an introduction to the theatre program: to grow accustomed to the larger scale and shorter timeline of high-school theatre with people who are on the same level as them. Many expressed interest in trying out for the coming seasons, and in trying other roles apart from acting.
“Here it’s more professional [than middle school],” Freedman said. “There are many more costume people and tech.”
In fact, for this show, there were over ten people working behind the set, preparing costumes and props. As usual, the freshman play required more costumes than normal, because each snippet was from an entirely different show with different characters.
Apart from one pair of shoes, the costumers managed to find all the costumes from the stock they already had, instead of having to make or buy ones. The costume designers worked closely with the director on many elements of the show. For example, in one piece, which focused on a man who believes he is the French impressionist painter Degas, actors played paintings, wearing costumes very similar to those used by the subjects of the images.
Each one was done a little differently, while television screens on either side assisted in creating the setting of the performance. “The direction and tech is very fun this time,” costume designer Martha Heller said. “Each of the different plays is directed for that play. Each vignette has its own flavor.”
