From May 9th through May 11th, Arrowhead High School’s drama put on a spring play titled The End. It consisted of three different one act parts within the play. The first act was 10 Ways to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse which was different hypothetical ways to survive zombies. The second act Us and Them was an abstract show where two sides want the same land so they draw a line and build a wall where they get suspicious of each other and spy on each other which ends in a war. The final act was The Perfect Ending was about a 1950s housewife and her family, but the end of the world is getting in the way of her perfect dinner.
“I have done Les Mis my sophomore year and then I did Choices and Consequences my freshman year. It was my last opportunity to do a show at Arrowhead and I really wanted to take that opportunity because I didn’t in the past and I really regretted it,” senior actor Mallory Shramka said.
According to the actors, production took a couple months along with rehearsals being two to three hours a day for those months.
There were not a lot of people that showed up for any of the showings although it was said that the second and third showings had more people than opening night.
Some of the actors said that it was because the spring play didn’t get as much funding for props, posters, and announcements. Actors said because of the lack of funding, not as many people knew about it and it wasn’t as advanced as other shows that get more funding. It was also said that there were less people in attendance due to the advanced placement testing going on around this time.
Tickets were sold online through the drama department or as walk-ups for $10.
Senior actor Ryann Steinbauer said, “My favorite part of the play was to be able to perform with all of my theater friends for one last time because none of us were able to be in a show together before this so it was a really good experience.”
Steinbauer noted that the hardest part was that the spring show didn’t get as much funding and there was limited time to prepare, so it was stressful having to learn things quickly.
Eden Harrison, a senior actor, said the most difficult part was that people didn’t always agree with each other’s decisions and behavior in rehearsal when putting the play together. She also noted that patience is key.
Shramka said that there were a lot of technical difficulties getting the set pieces and props.
Shramka said, “Don’t be afraid to be goofy. If you want to chase any kind of passion you have about performing, don’t be embarrassed to do so because you’re going to meet some really cool people.”
Harrison, Steinbauer, and Shramka all said that the play went well. They said they were pleased that they were able to tell the stories they wanted to tell. They also noted that there is always room for improvement, but as far as high school shows go, it was successful.
Shramka also noted that the actors were kind of nervous about the acts coming together, but it came together really well in the end.
“My favorite part was being able to tell a fun and interesting story with my best friends. I’ve been doing it [theater] for a really long time and I really enjoy being able to perform with people I enjoy being with and it’s like a big happy family,” Harrison said.
Both Shramka and Steinbauer said to enjoy theater and be in the moment. They also said that if a student does drama, there is always someone in the room you can be friends with. Everyone is very supportive and non-judgmental.
Any student from grade 10-12, can audition for Broadway. Broadway holds two productions: one musical and one production with different acts throughout the year. The group specializes in acting, singing and dancing from Broadway shows. The students produce a musical in the fall, become a madrigal group during the Christmas season, produce scenes from musicals in early winter and wind up as a vocal jazz troupe at year’s end.
Any student from grade 9-12 can audition for the Drama Department plays.The Drama department also holds two productions: one play and one production with individual smaller acts as well. The plays vary from year to year; sometimes they are drama, sometimes comedy, sometimes mystery, sometimes classic, sometimes contemporary, and sometimes a musical.
