While the fall musical is a production with substantial student participation and an overall notable production, it is not the only form of theatre CESJDS has to offer. In its second annual feature, the JDS high school spring play is set to hit the Faith Beit Midrash on April 3. This year the play consists of three one-act plays by David Ives: “Sure Thing,” “The Philadelphia” and “The Universal Language.”
Initially, the play was set to be “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde. However, due to the limited number of people who tried out, the production had to be changed to accommodate the students participating. Five students tried out, and they were split up within the different plays, with two to three students acting in each one-act play.
“I’d just say my absolute favorite part is just the joy and community because we are such a small group of people,” freshman Ari Rein said.
As opposed to the fall musical, which is the first production every school year, the spring play is an opportunity for students to participate in a play that also includes humor but without the singing. Along with that, it acts as another chance for students to be involved in theater at school.
“I really love comedy, so it’s important to me to do something that’s funny and brings people laughter and joy,” English teacher and spring play director Nancy Wassner said. “And also, if you are an actor, even if you are interested in musicals, we only have one opportunity in the year for you, so we thought we’d bulk that up a little.”
The process of preparing for the play is like any other drama production. Wassner, who is in charge of the play, was inspired by the fact that she loved high school theatre. First, Wassner marks up the play that will be produced, making notes of what she thinks would work well. Additionally, she makes a diagram of the stage to understand what props should be involved, where they should go and where actors should be standing during specific scenes.
Wassner works to make scripts into true productions by being creative in the presentation of lines. She frequently tries new techniques out with students in an attempt to see what works best with the scene. Along with that, students are encouraged to express their own take on the play and give their own input on specific parts.
Rehearsals for the play occur in the Feith Beit Midrash on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5 p.m., sometimes spanning a bit longer. However, not all actors need to attend every rehearsal because different students are involved in the three separate acts.
“The Beit Midrash is a good place for the play because it is a smaller-scale production than the musical,” sophomore Sami Goldin said. “Having the more intimate performance space where we can use the Bima as a stage, I think, suits it really well.”
While this is just the second time the spring play is taking place, Wassner is expecting that it will reoccur again in the future, and many members of the cast hope that it will grow to become a more prominent production. Tickets for the spring play are free, however, they must be reserved ahead of time due to the limited seating.
“I hope it gets to be more of a thing. I really hope we have a larger cohort every year, although the truth is, if it’s not a huge cohort, it’s okay,” Wassner said. “I just wish we had a few more people so that we could do more types of things. I really hope that people enjoy it.”
