Make some noise for Noises Off
When sophomore Katharine Villarin showed me an enormous spreadsheet detailing all the members of PLAYERS, I was shocked. The sheer number of people involved in LM’s theatre program is staggering. Members are there every day, often until nine p.m. But you only need to go to one PLAYERS performance to know that all of their hard work, all that planning and all those late nights, is more than worth it.
PLAYERS’ most recent show, Noises Off, gives us a glimpse into the chaotic lives of the cast of Nothing On. It’s a show within a show. Noises Off opens with the eclectic cast hysterically rehearsing for their show the following night. Everyone is panicked because nothing is happening the way it’s supposed to. In Act Two, the rotating set, designed by senior Michael Lashner, gives the audience a behind the scenes view. As a result of numerous hilarious misunderstandings, the characters’ show goes even worse than their original rehearsal.
Unlike their characters, however, the members of PLAYERS were completely prepared for their performance.
It’s not nearly as stressful as you might think,” director Taylor Feld ’16 said about the night before the show. “I’ve seen all the hard work everyone’s put in, and, honestly, I’m really calm…. Everything that needed to happen, happened, and I completely trust the work and dedication of the people working this show.”
Noises Off shows us how difficult it is to put on a cohesive show, and what the real lives of the cast must be like. Of course, they’re much more competent than their characters, and the night before the show, or “the Dark Day” is very different. Still, the many frantic backstage changes and the improvisation when something goes wrong illustrate the necessity of adaptation and instant reactivity onstage.
PLAYERS flawlessly executed Noises Off, and it was fast paced and filled with laughs. Someone sits on a cactus not once, but twice, falls down stairs, and walks into a pole, and at least one person at a time is in his or her underwear for a good deal of the show. “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had onstage,” said sophomore Erin Swisher, who played Brooke. Throughout the performance, the audience gets to know the characters, their frustrations, their jealousies, and their propensity to bring the performance to a halt when they lose a contact lens. It makes the funny moments even funnier.
Aside from putting on outstanding performances, PLAYERS is a place for any LM student looking to be creative. Senior Sofia Barrett said, “I’m really going to miss the creative outlet and supportive atmosphere next year.” Aside from acting, there are opportunities for just about everything: architecture, interior and exterior design, or even history. Anyone can contribute.
According to Feld, “It really is a broad organization with niches for any creative-minded person, as well as those who just want to join a great community and learn about theatre!”