Lights, camera, action! DeMatha’s theater company is hard at work on one of their two productions during the school year. With tech week right around the corner, the goal is to put everything together and put on an amazing show.
What’s unique about this year’s production is that the DeMatha Players have combined two shows for one program. One was written by seniors Alasdair Brown and Dino Scaletti called Amazing Atlas while the other, Crazytown, was chosen by director Mr. Rafferty to pair with the shorter show.
The headliner, Amazing Atlas, follows the story of a detective hired to solve a case but his incompetence gets in the way of him noticing the information right in front of him, and everyone around him knows he is oblivious to so many clear clues. The show has drawn parallels to the classic cartoon Pink Panther.
Crazytown illustrates a town functioning backwards from what we know in reality, featuring elementary school debates, the nicest man on earth being interrogated by the police, and a news reporter with stories that make no sense. The show is meant to be a light-hearted comedy everyone can enjoy.
Tech week is a final chance for the performers and stage workers to polish the production and make it memorable. It truly takes everyone to come through when it matters most during a week that demands a lot of hard work after school from 4-8 p.m. So many activities go into each night during the week, from running the show full stop to getting fitted for costumes. The most important work is done at this time.
“I feel very blessed and grateful that we can use our talents with great humor to spread joy and laughter to the DeMatha community,” said Alasdair Brown, the main author of Amazing Atlas.
Writing the script took Brown over a year, and he has been in previous shows with the theater company dating back to his sophomore year.
Longtime actor and secondary author of Amazing Atlas Dino Scaletti, who has shared his talents in every production at DeMatha since his freshman year, reflected on the benefits of being on stage so much. “The DeMatha Players have given me an outlet for self expression and have served as a space for me to meet a community of awesome people.”
Director Mr. Rafferty has had a new and positive experience working on a student-written show. “It’s actually a really cool experience. It’s been really fun to see the creative energy and capabilities of my students.” He also talked about the willingness to not stick so strictly to the script and having that flexibility in the back pocket.
The shows will be performed this weekend at 7 p.m. on both Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22, and concluding with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. on November 23. Come on out and support the DeMatha Players if you can and do your own detective work on these shows!
