Photo by Olivia Childers/Poly Spotlight
By Kristina Jorgenson, Editor-in-Chief
The recent history of the theatre here at Poly has tended to be a science of hit-or-miss. While there have been some very solid performances and interesting productions, something invariably seems to go wrong. Maybe the sound cuts out or a singer is off-key. Maybe it was simply that the play was an hour too long. However, the most recent production by the theatre department, “Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Scary Stories,” directed by Chris MarkerMorse, faced these problems head-on and transformed them into a thing of the past.
Act One of the play consisted of four different “scary” stories: “The Monkey’s Paw,” “The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Feather,” “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” These stories were adapted from the short stories of Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe. A different cast performed each story and many actors delivered stellar performances. While there were a few lines spoken too quickly or too quietly, the majority of the performers proved well-coached by their director and peers. Gabriel Pereyra (11) effortlessly carried his particular scene and all of the lunatics, including James Gjurgevich (9), were intriguing to watch. Ashley Wood (12) and Jace Brown (12), as well as Isabella Lomax (12), also delivered solid performances.
Act Two introduced “The Legend Sleepy Hollow,” which proceeded to occupy the rest of the play. The story revolved around a town and its legend of a murderous headless horseman. The performance moved along quickly and was made especially interesting by the colorful array of actors. Jacob Hartman (11) played a convincing jealous back-country boy who provided a sharp contrast to Nolan Sanchez’s (12) poised character Icabod Crane. Makenna Lammons (12) portrayed Mrs. Closson and significantly added to the spooky dynamic of the scenes.
In addition to the talent of the actors and actresses, the production incorporated the talent of the orchestra and interesting sound, light and media elements. Before the first and second act, the audience was privileged to hear the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” performed on the violin by Dominic Hernandez from Poly’s Orchestra. During each scene change, a screen was lowered and clips from old horror movies were played in order to keep the audience entertained and distracted. Lights and audio techniques were employed to give emphasis to key points in every story. When Pereyera goes crazy from hearing the heart of the dead woman he has killed, the audience is right there in his mind thanks to the beating of a drum on the side of the stage.
Overall, this “Sleepy Hollow” was very well put together and the efforts of the director, actors and all other participants shone through. For anyone who has yet to see the latest production from the Theatre Department, the play will be performed November 9 and 10 beginning at 7:00 p.m. Each ticket is only five dollars.