Hillcrest High School students working hard to prepare for play
Theater students at Hillcrest High School have spent months getting ready for their big performance of “Arsenic and Old Lace,” a dark comedy about two widows who poison men to put them out of their misery. While there’s around 15 students in the class, many are helping out.
“We’ve included as many people as possible,” Adrian McCracken, drama teacher at Hillcrest High School, said. “We’ve had some help from art students, from art teachers, all the way from the tech class, the tech theater students.”
There are a lot of challenges for students with a play like this one, such as character development.
“With playing two characters, then I have a lot of different props,” Nicholas Wetsel, a Hillcrest High School freshman participating in the play, said. “So I have to remember all of the different props to bring on stage. And then there’s all the different, there’s obviously the different lines that you have to memorize which is extremely difficult.”
The set has also been a challenge. It was created by students in a technical class along with some students in the play.
“It’s quite a massive set, but we’ve had a fun time building it,” McCracken said.
One student says the play has helped him make new friends in the cast and overcome shyness. He says taking on a different character has its rewards.
“Actually by becoming someone else, you get to learn more about yourself,” Jake Bryan, a Hillcrest High School freshman participating in the play, said.
Overall, the hard work and many hours put into getting the play ready is already paying off.
“One of the students just the other day told me now they know what they’re capable of,” McCracken said. “And that’s what this is all about is having an experience to remember and to know that they are capable of doing something great and spectacular.”
The play runs this Wednesday,Thursday and Friday at 7 pm at the Hillcrest High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $4 for students and $6 for the general public.
