A play about you and me
Theater program’s 2019 fall show falls into action
During rehearsal for ‘Middletown,’ senior Caleb Mosley and junior Brenna Collins converse about their roles.
October 4, 2019
The characters in ‘Middletown’ embody regular, everyday people. But not everyone is so unexceptional, because those people may just be us.
“It’s a play about you and me,” theatre director Casey O’Bryant said. “I love how ordinary everybody [in the show] is.”
‘Middletown’ deals with life, relationships, suicide, and the connection between everyone on earth. It will be performed by the production theatre class at 7 p.m. on Nov. 7-9. The students rehearse every weekday and on Saturdays to make ‘Middletown’ the best version of ordinary it can be.
Each of the actors and actresses read in between the lines of their scripts to prepare for their roles. Caleb Mosley, a senior, plays John Dodge, a lovable yet forgettable nobody who can’t seem to wrap his head around the grand scheme of things.
“I always make sure that I read the script multiple times so I can find stuff that I wouldn’t see if I only went over it once,” Mosley said. “You want the audience to be able to connect to the realness of the show. I don’t want them to see Caleb, I want them to see my character.”
One of the most resonating things about “Middletown” is its potential to touch the hearts of each person in the room in different ways. Everyone can find something to empathize with.
“She feels alone a lot and I think we can all relate to feeling alone every once in a while,” Junior Brenna Collins said. “And she has a sense of humor that she uses to cover up the pain underneath.”
In the process of creating ‘Middletown,’ the actors explore their characters and discover new things about themselves, extraordinary or not. Mr. O’Bryant appreciates the many lessons this play has to offer for both the audience and his students.
“What they learn in here is not just related to theatre, it’s related to life.” O’Bryant said.
