(From left) Carly Thaw, Brett Smith, Nathan Thomas and Taylor Bird rehearse a scene from the George Washington High School production of "Noises Off." The drama club stages the farce this weekend at the school.
Thaw, who plays one of the production's histrionic (and at times, seemingly brainless) characters, believes the most enjoyable facet of this production is the chance to be someone else.
"The best and most challenging thing about my role is getting to act completely opposite of myself and be entirely ridiculous," said the sophomore. "Especially in a fast-paced show like 'Noises Off,' having the opportunity to be somebody else for a little while is a lot of fun."
Club supervisor Azareen Mullins, who teaches English and theater at GW, directs the show.
"I like choosing plays that have the respect of the theater community," she said. "I believe it's thoroughly important to expose our students to important pieces that are challenging rather than trivial."
Essential to the success of the show are the stage crew, led by technical director Nick Staples, a junior who is also the club president. Although from a technical perspective this play has certainly presented challenges, Staples believes the end result makes all of the hard work worthwhile.
"This show still has me laughing every night from beginning to end," he said. "It's one of those plays that you can simply sit back and enjoy. For both the audience and actors, its witty humor and quick pace provide an escape from reality for a few hours."
Junior actress and drama club member Daisy Thomas is of a similar opinion.
"Not only is the script brilliantly written, we also have such a talented and wonderful cast," she said. "The stage business is truly not about any particular individual, but how each individual's performance contributes to making this such a cohesive show.
"This has been one of the most surprisingly amazing experiences of my life; from the director to the actors to the tech crew, I'm extremely lucky to have fallen into such good company."
WANT TO GO?
"Noises Off"
Presented by GW drama club
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: George Washington High School auditorium, 1522 Tennis Club Road
COST: Adults $8, students $6
INFO: gwhs.kana.k12.wv.us
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Noises Off," a British farce about a play-within-a-play, is not your typical comedy. Riddled with witty -- and, at times, raunchy -- humor, it pokes fun at the inner-workings of a failing theatrical production while keeping the audience's interest through capricious dialogue and physical witticism.
George Washington High School's drama club, the Theatre of the Nevertheless, performs the show this weekend. The cast, consisting of only nine characters, includes Nathan Thomas, Collin Nelson, Taylor Bird, Michael Tighe, Lily Odekirk, Brett Smith, Jacob McLaughlin, Daisy Thomas and Carly Thaw.
Thaw, who plays one of the production's histrionic (and at times, seemingly brainless) characters, believes the most enjoyable facet of this production is the chance to be someone else.
"The best and most challenging thing about my role is getting to act completely opposite of myself and be entirely ridiculous," said the sophomore. "Especially in a fast-paced show like 'Noises Off,' having the opportunity to be somebody else for a little while is a lot of fun."
Club supervisor Azareen Mullins, who teaches English and theater at GW, directs the show.
"I like choosing plays that have the respect of the theater community," she said. "I believe it's thoroughly important to expose our students to important pieces that are challenging rather than trivial."
Essential to the success of the show are the stage crew, led by technical director Nick Staples, a junior who is also the club president. Although from a technical perspective this play has certainly presented challenges, Staples believes the end result makes all of the hard work worthwhile.
"This show still has me laughing every night from beginning to end," he said. "It's one of those plays that you can simply sit back and enjoy. For both the audience and actors, its witty humor and quick pace provide an escape from reality for a few hours."
Junior actress and drama club member Daisy Thomas is of a similar opinion.
"Not only is the script brilliantly written, we also have such a talented and wonderful cast," she said. "The stage business is truly not about any particular individual, but how each individual's performance contributes to making this such a cohesive show.
"This has been one of the most surprisingly amazing experiences of my life; from the director to the actors to the tech crew, I'm extremely lucky to have fallen into such good company."
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