The pressure is on for the cast and crew for Arrowhead’s spring play Pride and Prejudice, which runs from the 18^th through the 21^st of February. 

With every show, there are difficulties along the way.  The original script in this play was written for a thrust stage, where the stage stretches into the audience.   This causes a problem for Arrowhead’s theater, where the stage and audience are separated.  Senior Kathy Judd, the stage manager for the show, talked about how this causes a problem.

“The stage is a raised circle plat formed like the stage for The Crucible,” Judd said as she described the technical aspect of the show.  “Though it is crammed, it turned out beautifully.  There are no blackouts in the show.  The only time we (the crew) come out is during the intermission.”

 Maralynn Markano, Arrowhead’s English teacher and the director of the play, commented on the stage as well as the cast and crew.

“The crew is pretty much the cast in this show,” Markano said.  “There are no two distinct groups.  The actors do the scene changes.  We actually had to choreograph the scene changes with the actors.”

With the play’s premiere coming up, the cast and crew have started to feel the pressure.  This is not the case for senior Chelsey Waala, who has been in Arrowhead’s plays since freshman year and is the lead Elizabeth Bennet.

“I don’t feel any pressure,” she said.  “I’m used to the flow of the theater.  I know what Mrs. M expects and wants, so I can help others.”

                Unlike Markano’s previous shows, this show has a musical element to it.  This show has a live orchestra in it, featuring Arrowhead’s own string orchestra.  She got the idea after she heard them play.

                “It was all by chance,” Markano said.  “I heard them playing a piece from the Jane Austin period last spring and was impressed on how they played.  I talked to the band teachers to see if the orchestra could play in the next play.  It’s different having a band instead of pushing a play button for the music.”

                Sophomore Sarah Bromberger is one of the twelve members playing at the play.  “We play music for the dance scenes,” Bromberger said. “During our practice, we work on the difficult parts in our music.  We also work on different ways to play them, for like openers and closings.”

                Markano has high hopes for this play. “It’s one of the best plays I directed here,” she said.

                Two weeks remain until the unveiling of the show.