This year, the LFHS Theater Department is set to produce several really great shows. Students in theater have worked very hard and stepped out of their comfort zone to make their characters come to life, and seeing the support that the students and staff show to the theater department is greatly appreciated, according to several theater participants.

During the week of October 13th-15th, Mr. Joe Pulio and Mrs. Sara Dreiling put on their fall play Failure: A Love Story. The show is focused on three sisters and their subsequent deaths. Pulio and Dreiling are also working together on a play that starts in November called Wild Dust. The play will take place in the Wild West and will be about death, friendship, feminism, love, and marriage. 

This November 17th-19th, Mr. Wanninger is producing a play called Rhinoceros. It’s about a small town that is besieged by one roaring citizen who becomes a rhinoceros and proceeds to trample on the social order. As more citizens are transformed into rhinoceroses, the trampling becomes overwhelming, and more and more citizens become rhinoceroses. One sane man, Berenger, remains, unable to change his form and identity.

But what goes into putting on these productions?

Mr. Corey Holmer, one of the tech directors, has helped out in putting together the lights, sounds, and making sure that everything goes smoothly. He has a tight schedule to follow – he and the theater students build an empty stage to a full set in one month. Every year before plays are produced, Holmer meets with FroshSoph director Mr. John Wanninger to come up with a mockup of what the plays will look like. 

“Not everything goes to plan,” said Holmer. “Every year something goes wrong.” In order to resolve the conflict, everyone in the theater department works together to fix the tech issues. 

Costume designer Mrs. Dawn Neal has worked very hard to make all the costumes for previous plays, and will continue for the plays this year. She gathers information for the costumes when the play is being announced, but can’t start them until the students have auditioned. 

“I love working with the kids and using creativity that fits the characters,” Neal said.

To get inspiration, Neal will read the script of the plays and look online to pick some costumes that could work with the play. Neal can face many challenges while making the costumes – for example, if a costume rips, she has to be there to modify it. Another big challenge that Neal has faced is making sure that she doesn’t go over the budget.

But after all this hard work, the students and staff involved in each production make something very special.

As Mrs. Dreiling said, “Come see the shows – there’s a lot of opportunities to go see new shows that are being produced this year!”