Comedy of Errors

It’s that time of year again! Presentation’s Performing Arts Department has been working tirelessly and very hard since January to bring you another play that is sure to be a hit. With the success of the other productions this year, such as Little Women and the recent musical, Little Shop of Horrors, the Performing Arts Department brings to you a different type of play that is sure to capture your attention and leave you laughing till your stomach hurts.

Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare’s first play, tells the story of two sets of identical twins that were accidentally separated at birth. Mayhem ensues as the twins find themselves in the same city and are mistaken for each other.

Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s shortest comedies. The comedy presents itself in a variety of ways, with a major part of the humor coming from slapstick comedy, wordplay and puns, and overexaggeration.

Slapstick comedy involves exaggerated and playful violence such as tripping and several of the characters falling all over the place. One set of twins play servants to the other set and are constantly abused by their masters in a playful manner that is sure to make you laugh. Mr. Houle, the director of the show, has several surprises in store for the audience that put a modern twist on a classic. “I wanted to make it more relatable so that the audience did not feel so far removed from the play.”

Even though some changes have been made to the play, the original script stays true to the Shakespearean text. Mr. Houle said, “Not a single word of the manuscript has been changed.”

Unlike the original, though, the Pres play has been set in a beach town, with a Tiki Hut, a gift shop, and a seaside restaurant. The bright and colorful set was constructed by the cast members and their families. The costumes, consisting of capris, shorts, and bright tops, were provided by the Die Bold family and certainly add to the tropical feel of the play.

Another surprise of the show is that your fellow classmates are not the only members of the cast. The beginning of the play features an ensemble from some unique characters. Mr. Houle has creatively incorporated six puppets into the show. He promises that “No puppets were harmed in the making of this show.” Mr. Houle explained that after the Little Shop of Horrors, he was “bit by the puppet bug” and decided to feature them in the play.

These puppets were created by Mr. Houle himself and play major roles such as the goldsmith Angelo, operated by Junior Jenna Vaccaro, and the merchant, Merchant, by Senior Jennifer O’Brien. O’Brien says, “I’ve had a great time working with my puppet, the merchant. Even though my arm tires through the two hours, playing a puppet role has its quirks. It is certainly the most interesting character I have ever played.”

The two girls operate the two puppets while playing ladies that happen to accompany the puppets wherever they go.

Although the show features students who have been doing theatre since their freshman year, some are cutting their teeth on this Shakespearean mash-up. spoke highly of her experience.“I decided to audition for A Comedy of Errors because I became hooked onto acting after taking Acting 1 and 2 with Mrs. Calin,” said Junior Nguyen Do. “It was an amazing experience, one of the classes that I would definitely remember and utilize the acquired skills from. I grew to be more confident in speaking in front of a large crowd, more insightful, and just more lively in general.

“So far, the play has been great,” she continued. “I am now able to put myself in my peers that are actresses’ shoes. It’s definitely a commitment, but at every rehearsal I am able to improve and learn something new. I’m excited for the opening and would like to thank the whole cast and crew for guiding me in the first production I am in!”

The opening night of Comedy of Errors was March 11 and goes till March 20 with a mere six shows. Buy your tickets fast because this play is sure to add a lot of laughter to your night!

Godspell Wows the Crowds

This past weekend, Pres students sat in the Valenzuela theater waiting for their teachers to do something they normally wouldn’t do in a classroom—dance, sing, and act.

And did they. Performing Godspell—which was originally produced in 1970 by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak—meant that our already-busy Pres teachers had to commit to weeks of rehearsals to learn songs, choreography and lots of lines. For some teachers, who had never appeared on stage before, simply learning the basics of how to enter and exit the stage were a challenge in themselves.

Mrs. Perryman, for example, “tried very hard not to fall.” But, she said, even if she were to fall and her costume malfunction, she knew that it wouldn’t trouble her. “I was doing this for the right reasons,” she said. “To raise funds for TADA and celebrate the Gospel—there would be no way to fail.”

The production, which ran for two weekends, served as a fundraiser for TADA, the booster group for Presentation’s theater program. According to Jim Houle, performing arts director, the performances raised approximately $15,100.

The musical is structured as a series of parables from the Bible, primarily the Books of Matthew and Luke. Mr. Cozort, who played Jesus Christ, said the challenge for him was how to symbolically portray Jesus since, “I’m not in a robe. I don’t have a beard.”

But he must have done his job well because people have been singing his praises ever since the show closed. “Mr. Cozort has jumped to the top of my ‘Most-amazing-people-I-know list,’” said Mr. Houle. “Of course, his talent was evident to all who witnessed his live performance, but the countless hours of work he did in preparation for the show went unnoticed by the audience, who only saw his confident, relaxed, seemingly effortless portrayal of Jesus.”

Ms. Hetherington, who was in the cast thought Mr. Cozort did a breathtaking performance as Jesus. “Every time we practiced it, I was touched anew—often to the point of tears. Mr. Cozort, I think, did an amazing job of conveying Jesus’ pain and anguish.”

Mr. Buell played John the Baptist and Judas. As Judas, Mr. Buell crucified Jesus, a scene that he called his favorite. He appeared onstage with a red bandana as if he were a motorcyclist. With a bag across his shoulders and an evil smirk across his face, he captured Mr. Cozort from behind. The boxes that were used as a stairway to the cross where Mr. Cozort was crucified symbolized Mt. Calvary and the Stations of the Cross in the Bible.

Dancing and singing with her colorful costume from the 1970s , Mrs. Perryman described her experience as “Amazing. It was exactly like the play. In Tower of Babel, we were all promoting our own idea of how the world should be, but then Jesus came and we all realized that if we didn’t work together, we couldn’t build anything worth having.”

Along with Mr. Buell from the religion department, Ms. Hetherington played a follower of Jesus in Godspell. “This was my first theater experience and it was absolutely marvelous.” Not only did Ms. Hetherington have a spectacular experience, but it helped her understand the Gospel as well. She said, “To listen to and act out this message night after night led me to a much deeper appreciation of what Christianity is all about.”

This play also marked the first time on stage for science teacher Mrs. Rahmig. “I don’t break out in song and dance during biology class very often!” she said. “I struggled to learn all of the dance moves in the songs, but by the time I finally got them down, I was having a great time performing them.” It did, indeed look like the cast was having a splendid time dancing and singing together.

The musical was embedded with inside Pres jokes, current day references and full-hearted acting by the actors and actresses. In one scene, Mr. Cozort and Mr. Buell voice the characters of Star Wars. In an interview after the play, Mr. Cozort admitted with a big smile on his face, that he thought Mr. Houle purposely put in that scene for him.

The choreography of this musical is both comical, yet genius. Of course it took practice to perfect. According to Mr. Buell, “We videotaped Sara [Freitas] doing the choreography and put it on YouTube. And at night, when everyone had left, I’d put it on my projector, move some desks out of the way and memorize the choreography.”

Right after the Star Wars scene, the theater turned into a disco. With an actual disco ball flashing, and teachers dancing, the “Light of the World” dance scene gave light to Jesus as the Savior. According to techie Jocelyn San Luis, junior, “You can’t help but dance to it!”

The teachers’ acting and chemistry onstage definitely had the Presentation-we’re-a-family aura. Ms. Hetherington said, “We came to the play as strangers—most of us—and left as members of a wonderful community.” Mr. Buell and Mr. Cozort brought their friendship backstage, too. San Luis noted their harmony as one of the most memorable moments she had backstage on the set of Godspell. She said, “Mr. Buell and Mr. Cozort’s beautiful offstage and onstage bromance….beautiful.”