It’s that time of year once again! This weekend, the ORRHS Drama Club is proud to present their 2017 fall production, Noises Off!
This year’s annual production is a comedy centered around the shenanigans of a dysfunctional show cast throughout their six-week run. Over the three acts, the audience sees the evolution – or rather, disintegration – of the fictional cast’s relationships and of their play.
“Act One is the longest as it shows the cast the rehearsal before opening night, and sets up all the background information you need to know about each character,” explained Alice Bednarczyk. She plays Belinda Blair, a cheerful yet gossipy actress. “Act Two takes place a month after Act One, and the entire set is turned around so you see all the mayhem occurring between the characters ‘backstage.’
“Act Two has minimal talking from most of the characters, hence the name ‘Noises Off.’” She continued, “Act Three takes place three months after Act One, where everyone hates each other and everything that could possibly get messed up, gets messed up.”
Because of the limited number of parts in Noises Off, there are two separate casts performing the show over the four-day period.
On Thursday and Saturday, the cast consists of Alice Bednarczyk, Bethany Cabral, Luke Couto, Lauren Gonsalves, Isaac Hartley, Christian Hotte, Grace Mastroianni, Kate Marsden, Elise Mello, and Chris Savino.
On Friday night and Sunday’s matinee, the cast is Nick Claudio, Lucas Faulkner, Elle Gendreau, Paul Kippenberger, Cuyler Matthieu, Katie MacLean, Julia Melloni, Ceci Prefontaine, Jack Roussell, and Andrew Steele.
Both casts of this quirky production are represented in this week’s quirky cover of The Wanderer.
“I’m so thrilled for this show because it’s unlike any other,” said Lauren Gonsalves. “Both casts are extremely talented and find new ways to play out the jokes every night, so that even though we see the same scenes over and over, the whole club is still dying of laughter every time.”
Gonsavles continued, “I really think that audiences will be shocked by how hilarious a high school drama club can be. Even regular visitors will be buying tickets for every night.”
Drama Club President Chris Savino said, “I think the show is hilarious. I sit and watch my fellow cast mates perform, and I am always dying of laughter. I think the cast is perfect.”
“Everyone works so well together,” Savino said, “and by the end of this process, we have become very tightknit and we all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses after this amazing rehearsal process, and we help each other learn off of that. It has been the most amazing show of my high school experience so far and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
Noises Off! runs Thursday, November 16 ,through Saturday, November 18, at 7:30 pm, with a matinee performance at 2:00 pm on Sunday, November 19. Tickets are $10 for students and seniors, and $12 for the general public. They can be purchased at the Marion General Store in Marion, Pen and Pendulum in Mattapoisett, and Plumb Corner Market in Rochester. ORRHS students can also purchase $5 student tickets in the cafeteria this Friday.
By Jo Caynon
