Everyone knows the best plays are the ones that keep the audience’s eyes glued to the stage every second of the performance while also shedding light on an important subject: Advanced Acting’s fall play does both.
This fall, the Advanced Acting class is putting on “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime” from Nov. 14-16 at 7 p.m. in the Alan Harvey Theater.
Marketing manager of the play junior Sparrow Lieu said the play, written by Simon Stevens, is based on the best-selling mystery novel by Mark Haddon.
“[The play] follows Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy who embarks on an enchanting expedition after discovering Wellington, his neighbor’s dog dead,” Lieu said. “This play transports viewers inside Christopher’s vivid inner world as he tries to discover, tries to uncover the mystery of Wellington’s death, and along the way, uncovers the mystery within his own life.”
Advanced Acting teacher Kim Taylor and director of the play said she chose this play because it highlights a character who is neurodivergent, something that she wants to bring more awareness to in the community.
“I think this play in particular really encourages empathy and it helps show someone who sees the world in a really unique way,” said assistant director senior Mary Schickedanz.
Taylor said the play also tackles issues such as family conflicts, betrayal, and differences in perspectives.
“I think it’s a great story about how differences in people’s minds can affect their relationships with each other, not just the main characters’ differences, but also just how messy families can be in general,” junior Collin Cameron said.
Cameron will be playing the lead, Christopher Boone. Though Cameron has been part of the backstage crew since his freshman year, he is new to acting onstage.
“I was originally more behind the scenes, working on lighting and stuff like that, but the immersion in all of the practices of acting and all of that just made me realize that it was something that was really fun to me, and I decided to pursue it,” Cameron said.
Though it’s his first time acting on stage, Cameron has already left an impression on his fellow cast members.
“Working with Collin, who is neurodivergent himself, has been amazing, [especially] seeing him embody Christopher,” junior Alison Atanasio said.
In addition to students preparing to be on stage, there have also been students preparing behind the scenes. Lieu said this play is unique from a technical, artistic, and visual perspective.
“This play is super cool because it uses a lot of moving staging and creative staging, so the play doesn’t actually use that many sets or props,” Lieu said. “There’s a lot of really cool movements and lifts.”
A stunt choreographer has come in to help the cast prepare for more action-intense scenes of the play.
“We’re doing these lifts for certain scenes where I get carried around or we do flips and stuff,” Cameron said. “There’s also a few minor fights and stuff between the characters.”
The stage production class is also helping Advanced Acting prepare for the play.
“They’re working on the projections, they’re working on the backdrops, they’re working on the sound,” Schickedanz said.
Senior Nasreen Schulze said even though she isn’t in the acting class, she’s helping draw digital sets for th
e play, which will be projected and used as a backdrop, as opposed to typical painted sets.
“It’s the whole concept of the play,” Schulze said. “It’s more focused on projections rather than paintings.”
Since Advanced Acting only has two more weeks to prepare for the play, they’ve been working to stay on schedule.
“Almost all [rehearsal is] in class, except for Tuesday rehearsal,” Schickedanz said. “Tuesday evenings, all the actors come in at various times and rehearse, and then in the two to three weeks leading up to the play, we’ll have nightl
y rehearsals almost every day.”
The cast and crew said they were looking forward to the opening night.
“I’m excited to see how it turns out,” Cameron said. “ I hope that we’re able to have that same level of i
mpact [as professional productions].”
Taylor said she hopes that by watching the play, students can deepen their understanding of perspective and underst
anding.
“We’re trying to highlight what it is like to look at the world through somebody else’s eyes,” Taylor said.
