the bird on fire

An Inside Look and Personal Review By Blogger Sami Alnabelsi 

The PVS Theater Department presented Androcles and The Lion right before the Winter Break. I went to this performance, and here is my honest reaction. 

Let’s start with the technical aspects. Before the shows begin, there is tech week. To help understand exactly what it is, I interviewed the mastermind of it all, Mr. Gomez–the theater arts teacher. He explained that “During tech week actors practice the play with the added technical aspects. Music, lights, props and so much else is added into rehearsal. Tech people finish building sets and paint stages and make adjustments to suit the actors’ needs. It is the culmination of work over months and months.” 

Back to the review. The sound and lighting design was great and looked professionally done. The set looked to be very thought out and was a collaboration of the Theater Department and the Art Department. There were also very clever “homemade” sound effects whenever something interesting happened. 

Now onto the actual show. Even though I didn’t know the whole story prior to watching, I understood a lot of it. This show was presented in a comedic way, which captured my friends’ and my attention. 

Now onto the backstage. I conducted an interview and was given input on the show and how it went. Actor Emerson Dunn noted that “nerves were high, but excitement levels were even higher.” She also gave specific details saying, “Lina and I were hopping up and down in place to satisfy the urge to move; Chase was swaying nervously on his feet; all the while Reagan still looked like she was about to throw up.” 

To conclude, this performance was great. There is another play scheduled for sometime in the second semester. Make sure to check it out. 

A Behind-the-Scenes Look by PVS Player Emmy Kaminsky

Although our Palm Valley School theater department may put on a great show, there is so much chaos and effort that goes into it behind the scenes (and lots of fun too.) It took months for us to put together this show, Androcles and the Lion, and it was quite the process. From the first read-through to our final show, it was an amazing yet chaotic experience. 

From the beginning of the process the cast could already tell how much fun we would have putting on this production. Our early theater classes allowed us to get a feel for what we were in for, but even after that nobody could have expected the joy that came along with this show. 

Fast forward to tech week #1 (once we were finally starting to know our lines), we were really starting to get into character and connect with our fellow cast members. After school we would all head to the bathroom and do our makeup while singing Hamilton songs at the top of our lungs. Eventually Mr. Gomez had to get us to wind down to start the run through. This continued for the whole two weeks, with constant notes from Mr. Gomez to make the show as magical as possible. 

Then, it was time for the faculty preview. The nerves were kicking in. We realized, “Oh wow, this is really happening!” That show was a huge success. We continued performing for the whole weekend, and although we may have put on a great production behind the scenes, it was quite chaotic. From me forgetting my cues to tomatoes spilling all over my backpack, everything possible went wrong at some point. As a cast, we powered through these mistakes and kept the show running. We had a matinee, and no more than 20 people were in the audience for that show, but we still performed at our best as they deserve to have the same show everyone else gets. 

The most fun I had during this show was definitely on Saturday, when we had two shows, so we all hung out at school for the entirety of the day. In between shows we ate pizza, slept, watched movies, and just got to spend one final day together as a cast and make the most of it. While we were all watching movies and eating, Nevan decided to call his friend “Pete 4k” and run around the whole school chanting, and surprisingly didn’t lose his voice to play the old man in our show, Pantalone. The whole cast has agreed that his red onesie makes him look like a life-sized elf on the shelf! Then we performed our final show, packed up our stuff, and said “Arrivederci!” 

As I’m sure you can see, a lot went into this production and making it so everyone could have a good time (especially the cast.) We are all looking forward to another show in the spring, this time a musical! (Psst. It’s You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.)

Another Behind-the-Scenes Look by PVS Actor Emerson Dunn

The backstage of the school show Androcles and the Lion is not always as it seems to the crowd. Even though the show may look like it’s going off without a hitch onstage, backstage is always chaotic but exciting. Whether it’s Nevan saying something diabolical, or Emmy barely making her cues, there is always something going on. On opening night, when our cast performed their show, nerves were high, but excitement levels were even higher. As the audience took their seats, our frazzled actors began the intense mental preparations for the long night ahead. Both of the Kaminsky sisters were seen yelling about how they were going to throw up and wanted to go home; Lina and Greenlee were sitting outside FaceTiming another actress friend, while Nevan and Chase were sitting on their phones, cool as cucumbers. All the while, I lay face down on the floor, tired, hungry, excited, nervous, and hungry once more. While the time for places drew closer, nerves soared higher, and as the saying goes, “Nerves are contagious.” I can confirm that as I walked backstage before the show, past all the worried actors, a sudden wave of uncertainty and insecurity set over me. When the time for places came, our group of strolling players took their spots. As our opening music came on, we strolled out to the start of a new show. After the first scene, I walked offstage and immediately noticed how much calmer I was. It’s like my body knew; even after just five minutes on stage, I was calmer, the urge to move, gone, and my head clear. The opening show went very well and the audience loved it. I didn’t accidentally throw my feather duster off stage; no one forgot their cues, and someone’s costume only fell off once! After the final bows, we ran out to greet the audience and thank them for coming. We ended up getting many, many compliments for our amazing performing skills, and, overall, the show went well. Despite the absolute chaos that happened behind the scenes, we made it through our first real performance of the show that we had worked so hard to perfect. 

And, One More Review from Junior Rylie Conway

I went to see Androcles and the Lion with both Olivia and Louisa, and it was pretty funny. It had its corny moments, but I thought it was great. My favorite characters were definitely the funniest with both Nevan’s and Zoey’s characters having some great moments. Some of my favorite moments included when Nevan threw a fit on the ground about his money, when Chase did his rap song, when Zoey had the scene where her imagination became real life, and when Emerson threw her broom backstage and Nevan screamed “Ow!” It was overall a really comedic play, and I’m glad I went.