Out of the Frying Pan

Out+of+the+Frying+Pan

On Oct. 27-29, the theatre department will present this year’s Fall Play, “Out of the Frying Pan” by Francis Swann, in the Zelle Black Box Theatre.

After three months of rehearsal, the actors, staff and crew are ready to put on the show.

Junior Morgan Ivester will play Dottie Coburn, the daughter of a politician who leaves Boston to follow her dream to become an actor in New York City. Ivester was surprised when the the cast list came out because she did not expect to get the role of  Dottie.

When I was reading the character descriptions, Dottie was the last person I thought that I would be able to play.” Ivester said. “I was extremely worried, since I was nothing like the character, but in the end that was the part I got.”

Since Dottie shares nothing in common with Ivester, the process of getting in sync with the character was a challenge.

“Dottie, in the very beginning, was a hard character for me to grasp. For me, getting into character just consists of a lot of reading of the script and trying to figure out why the character responds to things the way that they do. Ms. Daniel helped me with this process a lot, as well,” Ivester said.

Ivester’s love of being on stage evolves as she gets to be a different person for each role.

“I think being an actress is so fun because you get to be someone that you’re not,” Ivester said. “It gives you an opportunity to see the world though a new set of eyes. Another aspect of acting that I love are the connections you make with the actors around you”.

Ivester gives a description of the play and hopes that people will enjoy the play as much as she does.

“This play comes at you with fake mustaches, funny accents, rubber chickens and nonstop plot complications! What else do you need?” Ivester said.

Staff members are the people who keep everything organized and guarantee that each company member does their job. They support the director’s plan and processes so the play will turn out well. This play will be the fifth theatre production that junior Ellen Jiang participates in as a staff leader. However, this time her experience is different because she is the Assistant Director.

It is another step for me. I still love the value of other positions as much as Assistant Director, but I wanted to step out of technical (backstage) work for a little while and start developing other leadership and management skills,” Jiang said.

Jiang enjoys the opportunity that a staff role presents as it allows her to work more on the “big picture” of the show and interpreting the play from that perspective.

I feel like being on the staff or crew gives me a better understanding of the play itself,” Jiang said. “Instead of focusing on one part, I can see the play as a whole. And as a staff, I need to think about job distribution, managing people and schedules, communicating, researching and problem-solving, etc. This kind of leadership is more challenging to me.”

Regardless of her position, Jiang enjoys being a part of the play and doing the best job she can.

“No matter what job I get, I always prioritize the spirit of the company, which is the most valuable thing and will be reflected during the performance,” Jiang said.

The crew is in charge of the costumes, the props for actors, and the lights and sound, which basically creates the visual aspects of the play. Without the crew, it would be hard to run a play smoothly. Actors must concentrate on their roles, and the crew does the rest. Junior Amy Kim participates in the play this time as a Prop Crew member. She has always been on the Costume Crew, so being in charge of props is a new experience for her.

“ ‘Out of the Frying Pan’ is my third show as a crew member but my first show on the prop crew. This play is very special to me, since my new job makes everything feel very new,” Kim said. “It is also special because I have a job that requires responsibility. It overwhelmed me, but also helped me improve a lot.”

Kim originally thought that the Prop crew had the least amount of work, and she would not really have to worry about making mistakes. However, now that Kim has experienced it, she realizes the difficulty of her job and how valuable it is.

“I always thought Prop crew would be the easiest job because you would just need to hand over the props,” Kim said. “I now know I was totally wrong! When I had to watch Stella work on stage without her mirror prop, trying to pretend, which made the scene look so fake, I understood. Even though it was a rehearsal it was a good lesson. It might seem like it is one of the smallest details, but those small details make a big picture and this is what I like about being on the Prop crew. Prop crew has actually trained me to be more responsible and I love it”.

Kim loves the play because of the humor. “It is just so funny. If you come to the play, you will die laughing,” Kim said.