Taking place in the early 20th century, the well known “Our Town” play tells the story of a small town in New Hampshire. It’s a simple production about two families and they’re everyday life, a boy and a girl ending up falling in love, and it’s a classic for high school productions.

Drama department teacher Ms. Mackey said, “It’s really a timeless play, one high schools do all the time. The main idea is simplicity and liv[ing] in the moment.”

She continued, “It’s a good play for what we need right now going through the pandemic. We need those reminders of enjoying the little things. It’s about [the value of] normal relationships.”

The set is also very simple; there are no actual props, which was done to focus on the relationships of the characters rather than the set. 

The rehearsals started in August, and continued through November, taking place four times a week. 

This time commitment proved to be one of the biggest challenges for the students participating in the production. Students often stayed and rehearsed until 7:30 p.m. after school.

Some of those students had other time commitments as well, such as band, choir, orchestra, and difficult AP classes. 

Ella Horner (‘22) played one of the lead characters in “Our Town”. She said that the time management required to juggle outside activities and the commitment that comes with being in the play is difficult.

Horner (‘22) said, however, that she still really enjoyed pushing herself and improving her talents through performing in the play.

“I love it, I’ve always enjoyed performing… [It’s all about] working together [and] building relationships and character,” Horner (‘22) commented.

The actors are not the only contributors to the play. Stage tech plays a huge role in the production process. This year’s stage manager Rathan Dujardin (‘22) was in charge of letting people know when to add effects, such as lights and sounds, as well as placement on stage.

This is Dujardin’s (‘22) first time being a stage manager, and he had such an important role in running the play.

He said, “You spend so long doing this and in three days it’s over… But I loved the connections built and time spent with each other.”