The theater program has held numerous shows in the auditorium for students to see. However, the Long Christmas Dinner is a new step forward, because it will be presented to several judges for competition. 

The theater program is making moves by preparing two shows at once. First, The Crucible, a serious drama, is a new turn for the program since it is a drama instead of a comedy, and The Long Christmas Dinner. This is a one-act play to be used to compete at the state level.

Similar to their previous production of Clue, this play is directed by someone new, but instead of being a student, it is someone with prior experience in the program. 

“It’s nerve-racking, I would really like to do well. I want to support the program that I was a part of as well. I would count success as the actors understanding their characters, and the audience being entertained. I was co-costume designer with my mom, and I am secretary of the Woodmen Theater Support Organization,” Ms. Becca Van Es said. 

She plans to use this as an experience to explore something new, but also as a chance to learn from the students.

“I’m excited to learn how to collaborate with actors on a direct basis. This is a good example of learning from a student. I have forgotten a lot of the intricacies of blocking and acting. Every rehearsal, I am learning just as much about what I have forgotten and learning to teach as well. I want to learn a lot from the actors and Mrs. Hayes as well,” Ms. Van Es said.

The Long Christmas Dinner is a show open to interpretation, but it speaks about values as family members and individuals, impact on families. 

“The show is basically 90 years through only Christmas dinners. My character is Leonora, and she is the second generation. She adds to the story as she is the calming presence. She’s the beginning of the next generation and is the motherly figure after the previous mother dies,” junior Ellanor Arkins said. 

Every character in the story is not there just to entertain but to symbolize a value or a tradition.. 

“The play is about a Christmas dinner that goes through generations and scenes of death, birth, and time.  My character, Roderick, is one of the original family members, and he has children who are reflective of him,” junior Trever Capien said. 

The high stakes have caused many students to adjust how they view rehearsals and how they spend their time outside of school.

“They’re more fun because they’re a close-knit group due to the small cast. I am way more familiar with those who are in the cast. However, I have had to build up my character with practice more often after school,” Capien said.

Arkins enjoys the smaller cast because it allows her to develop her acting skills as there is more time for one-on-one improvement, unlike the larger cast of her second show, The Crucible.

“Rehearsals are pretty chill because it’s such a small cast that everything can go more smoothly and slowly, and we have time to focus on individual things. Being in two plays at once can be a challenge because it means I have to practice almost every day, but it’s fun because I get to work with two groups of people. It allows me to stretch and develop my acting skills and to switch between two different characters,” Arkins said.