Standing center stage underneath the blinding spotlight, the cast of the DGS winter play puts the finishing touches on their performance. They have perfected their lighting, staging and memorization of their lines throughout the past several weeks.
Students will be performing “Failure: A Love Story” on Dec. 7-9 at 7 p.m. in the studio theater. The cast has been preparing for the play since the beginning of the 2023 school year. English teacher Tiffany Rubin is the director of this year’s winter play and further detailed what the play will be about.
“So the play is called “Failure: A Love Story,” which the reason it’s called Failure is because it’s about three sisters with the last name Fail, it takes place in the 1920s and they tell you at the top of the show that all three sisters within the year are going to pass away, which is a weird way to start a show considering it’s kind of a whimsical, sweet look at death and making the most of the time we have and the connections we build along the way,” Rubin said.
While death for many is associated with solemn feelings, this play puts a spin on it and shows people to make the most out of the life they have. One main thing the cast is focusing on throughout their rehearsals is the staging.
“This play in particular calls for really creative staging, so there isn’t necessarily one right way to create the stage fixtures or create the relationship so a lot of it does come from the students as well, their own instincts as actors to create all these interesting images that we’re seeing or the progression of the story,” Rubin said.
After the audition process is finalized, students begin rehearsals to prepare for the actual play. The winter play began rehearsals at the end of October and took up a decent amount of students’ time. Sophomore Jack Melie will be acting in the winter play for the first time.
“We have been having rehearsals Monday-Friday after school. Our director Ms. Rubin has each day blocked out with the schedule and what section of the show we are preparing each day, so it is super clear to know what we will rehearse each day,” Melie said.
Students that have previously performed in Rubin’s plays have nothing but good things to say about them. Senior Gianna Caponigro will also be performing in the upcoming play.
“Honestly I am really excited, I really like being in Ms. Rubin’s plays, [which] are always really funky. They are fun and it’s really different from stuff I’ve been in before, and I have a bigger role, and the role I have is very fitting,” Caponigro said.
Caponigro plays the role of Jenny June, one of the three sisters the play is about.
Tickets for “Failure: A Love Story” are free for students with a District 99 ID, $5 for children and senior citizens and $10 for adults.
