From Jan. 19-21, Park theater put on performances of the one-act play “A Trip to the Moon.” One-acts are a type of play that surround one event, in this case the moon landing, and display multiple separate scenes during that event, all with just a few characters. This type of play forces actors to look at scenes from a different angle and learn how to interact with other characters in ways that normal plays don’t require.
Senior Ronan Guevara said “A Trip to the Moon” was a new territory because it was 100% dialogue and included multiple characters per actor, but he said he thinks it was a good way to step up his acting career.
“This was one of my first ‘play’ plays. I’m used to musicals, so this is a very dialogue-heavy play and I feel like that’s going to really help me in my journey to becoming a better actor,” Guevara said. “Also, just playing different characters because every character is different in their own way, so everytime you play a different character it broadens what you’re capable of doing as an actor.”
Junior Karen Dworsky said the show gave her new opportunities to interact with others in a different way than in other shows she’s done.
“This show has helped me figure out how to be in-character because this show has taught me how to listen more to my scene partner and react to what they’re saying,” Dworsky said. “A lot of times you get really focused on doing line after line because you memorize lines, but this show I’ve definitely improved in being able to react to what they’re saying.”
Director Jodi Schifsky said her favorite part of the show-making process was watching all aspects of the show meet to make the final product.
“(I’m proud of) how everything came together. There are a lot of different factors in theater when you think of not just the acting but the costumes, the set pieces, the props, the sound and lights,” Schifsky said. “We’ve been working on those in isolation until these last few weeks, so it’s really exciting to see them all come together to tell one story.”
Guevara said he was proud of how he was able to make multiple characters come to life during the show.
“I’ve been the most proud of fully dissecting my characters and understanding them because as an actor, it’s my job to really understand who I’m playing and doing my best to portray them on the stage in a way that everybody can understand and relate to,” Guevara said.
According to Dworsky, stage managers are the reason the show flows well behind the scenes and in front of the audience.
“I want to shout out all the stage managers because they work super hard to get everything organized, make sure that the transitions run smoothly (and) that we have all our props and all our set pieces,” Dworsky said. “We wouldn’t be anything without our stage managers.”
Schifsky said the cast and crew of “A Trip to the Moon” are excited for what’s to come in the theater program and in the next few days, where they’ll be taking the show to a one-act competition at Richfield High School.
“Hopefully, we’ll keep the momentum going and help a show like this build interest and inspire more people to join,” Schifsky said. “But we’re also not done with this show because it’s going to competition next week, so we’ll look at what really worked in these performances and what we can still tweak in the next few days before we remount it in Richfield.”
