The Arrowhead Drama Department has announced that their winter production this year will be Thornton Wilder’s, Our Town. Auditions were held Tuesday, November 15th and Wednesday, November 16th at 6:00- 9:30 pm in the North Campus Theater.

Callbacks for the auditions will be held Friday, November 18th from 6:00-10:00 pm and are invite only. Those who are invited for a call back will be cast in the show.

Maralynn Markano, who is in charge of Arrowhead’s Drama Department, says, “Auditions have been great so far! 50 people auditioned for a cast of 25.  That is almost double the amount who auditioned for last year’s play.  Particularly exciting to see was a large influx of freshmen who auditioned — around 20, I think.  I am excited to start a four year journey with them in our Drama Department.”

The actual show will be held February 9th, 10th  and 11th. Seating is general admission and the doors open 20-30 minutes before showtime. Tickets for the show can be bought in advance at 5th and 6th hour lunch at both campuses or online at arrowheadschools.org. Tickets will additionally be no sale 45 minutes before showtime. Tickets are eight dollars.

Our Town, was published in 1939 and is a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about everyday life in Grover’s Corners, a small American village. Being Wilder’s most well known and performed play, it has become a classic.

According to the Arrowhead Drama Department website, the play is performed with no curtain, minimal props, and no scenery. Characters are expected the mime the objects and props that they use. Only chairs tables, staircases, and ladders are used.

Markanno says, “Our Town is the MOST produced play world-wide.  It has been evidenced that it is performed EVERY day somewhere in the world.  It has also been recorded that over 10,000 productions have been produced in the last 10 years alone.

This is a play that has been dear to my heart since I first saw it back in 1984 at my own high school.  In some ways, I credit it with being the reason I auditioned for the following play that year.  That is what began my journey in theatre and what eventually caused me to become a theatre teacher and director.”

The Arrowhead’s Drama Department website says, “The sparse and symbolic qualities of the set suggest Wilder’s intention to make Grover’s corners represent all towns.” Wilder said, “Our claim, our hope, our despair are in the minds—not in things not in scenery.”

“It is a play that was written in 1938, but is universal to people everywhere and of every time.  It is about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.  It is about remembering not to take the little things in our lives for granted, like a simple cup of coffee or the sun rise that comes up each day.  It is about remembering to cherish the moments we have with those we love”,says Markano.

The role of the narrator in Our Town is known as the Stage Manager, whom addresses the audience when he speaks and asks the audience questions. The Gibbs and Webb families both symbolize ordinary people. George Gibbs and Emily Webb fall in love and get married; however, the play focuses on the end of their lives.

Markano says, “Our seniors (and their parents), many of whom will set off to college in a few short months, can relate to this.  Those students and faculty who have lost a loved one, especially one gone too soon, can also relate to this.  It is a play that touches every person who sees it in some way or another.”

Any questions about the show can be brought to Markano, who can be contacted at [email protected].