By Brogan Hennesy
There’s an old saying in the theatre business: “The show must go on!”
That is exactly what the St. Joseph-Ogden High School Drama Club is doing this year; they will be having their fall play in-house, and be recording it virtually.
After St. Joseph-Ogden Drama Instructor Chandler Dalton had to cancel Disney’s Freaky Friday for spring 2020 due to the Covid-19 stay-at-home order, she is glad to announce that the High School will be putting on “Murder on the 518”, a murder mystery.
“I got the idea to do a murder mystery play after seeing the movie Knives Out last fall,” Dalton said. “I loved that movie and it is one of my favorites. I actually let the kids choose this year’s fall play while in quarantine last year. It was the least that I could do given that their musical had been canceled.”
Dalton is also allowing the graduating class of 2020 seniors to join the production, since their Drama club experience had an abrupt stop.
Knowing that school and extracurricular activities are a necessity, Dalton is taking proper Covid-19 safety precautions in order to put on the production.
“Auditions actually went really well this year,” Dalton said. “I changed it up from years past, meaning I gave the kids the audition materials a week in advance and it actually worked out better than I thought. The kids came to audition more prepared and actually put a lot of thought into the characters they were portraying.”
SJ-O junior Lauren Harper, who plays the role of Avery Millen, the CEO of Salt Lake Pharmaceuticals, and one of the passengers on the 518 train to Los Angeles, said drama has been an important part of her high school career.
“I absolutely love acting and the opportunity it gives me as a creative person to express myself and be around other people who have the same passion as me,” Lauren claims.
As an upperclassman, Harper has a large responsibility this year in being a role model.
“As a junior who’s had plenty of experience in the program, it’s really interesting seeing all the freshmen learn the ropes and experiencing acting and putting on a legitimate performance for the first time,” Harper said.
Harper describes this year’s production as a very unique experience.
“We have to take our temperatures before each rehearsal and wear masks at all times,” Harper explains. “We also have to sanitize all our props and everything that we touch. It’s a lot to keep track of!”
The actors are now able to rehearse on their stage after having to work in the high school’s Music Room.
Harper is very glad to have an audience for the production, giving it a feeling of normality.
“Without a live audience, theatre isn’t really theatre,” she said. “Without one it’s simply just like any other rehearsal. The applause after a scene or the laughter after a joke is what feeds the production.
“It’s what lets us know we’re doing a good job. It boosts our confidence! It’s why we do what we do: to bring joy and an escape, if only for a moment, from the crazy world we live in now. Theatre really is a sanctuary and a blessing in this weird time.”
SJ-O senior, Tyson Madsen, who has been involved in drama since his freshman year, plays Owen Casey,a private investigator that happened to be on the 518, and is now tasked with solving the case. Madsen always tries to get a personal connection to each of his roles, but this year he has had a bit of a struggle.
“There’s one main struggle that I still have with trying to portray Owen Casey, but it’s not exactly what most would expect.” Madsen said. “Sometimes when the people around him get too distracting or are arguing with each other, he has to step in and yell in order to get their attention so that he can say what he needs to.”
“The problem is, I don’t yell. You can ask anyone who knows me and they wouldn’t be able to think of a single time I’ve raised my voice at anyone in anger or frustration let alone yell, so it’s as if I don’t even know how to yell loud enough to actually get their attention.”
Madsen also believes that though some things are different this year, it’s still the theatre that he loves.
“Honestly, it doesn’t feel as different as you’d expect. Of course we’re all wearing masks and keeping distanced, but other than that it’s pretty much the same. Our mentality in practices hasn’t changed that much.”
Madsen hopes that “Murder on the 518” will bring viewers the same experiences the actors had.
“I simply hope viewers will have a good time taking a break and watching our show this year.” Madsen said. ”With everything going on around us it can make it seem like nothing good can come out of this year, and it takes little relaxing breaks like this to hopefully remind us that things will get back to normal soon enough.”
Murder on the 518 will only be in-house to parents. Other viewers can watch the play for free on October 24 at 2:00 and 7:00 pm by signing up for a free account on the NFHS Network.
