First Annual Theater Volleyball Game!

After two months of working in the theater, you’d think we miss sports, right? Well, that depends on the person you ask. Yesterday, the Earnest cast, along with Mr. Howard, played Volleyball with Berkshire’s JV Girls. After a few lessons on how to serve, pass and spike, we were ready to compete. Mr. Howard and Ms. Connell were the captains of the teams, each team being composed of both JV Girls players and Earnest cast members. The match was on!

At the end of the two games, both teams tied! However, it was a lot of fun to play a sport most of us had never played before. We had a blast... and even had some spectators root for us! We all agreed that it would be a good idea to do something like this every year. A special thanks to JV Girls Volleyball!

by Jeff Erazo, '15

Strike and Cast Party!

After three very successful shows and an entire season filled with hard work, dedication, and fun, The Importance of Being Earnest has come to an end. On Sunday morning, the cast and crew gathered one last time to participate in ‘Strike,’ a theater term that means taking down the set. The props were taken back to the props room, the platforms were put back into the shop, and the Green Room was reorganized and cleaned. Thanks to everyone’s collaborative effort, we managed to finish fairly quickly.

However, the fun did not end there! Right after Strike, Ms. Warner was nice enough to host the cast party at her house! At the cast party, we all talked, ate pizza, ice cream and played with Ms. Warner’s cat, Tux. It was really nice to get away from campus and just have a little bit of fun, especially after a busy week!

The cast party ended with a game called “Hot Seat.” During the game, we had each of the cast and crew members sit in a seat (the Hot Seat) while everyone else gathered around and thanked them for what they had contributed toward the production. The production definitely created new friendships and great memories. It’s what I like to call a lifetime experience!

by Jeff Erazo, '15

Closing Night

The Green Room had never been filled with so much commotion; some ran their lines for the last time, others practiced their dialect, and the rest of us changed into our costumes. However, we were all set to accomplish the same goal: make our last show the best it can be.

While “The Importance of Being Earnest” has been a huge success at Berkshire School, we wanted to make our last performance the greatest and most memorable. Just like Friday night, Saturday night was also packed in Allen. The stakes were really high.

From the Green Room, we could hear a roar of laughter erupt from the audience, giving us all a boost of confidence. The show ended with a Q&A session, which the audience took advantage of to ask an array of questions. It was really fun letting others know the parts and pieces that must work together to put on a show.

After we had changed out of our costumes, Mr. Howard took us all to McDonald’s in a van. The van ride was incredibly fun, for we were all very proud of what we had accomplished. Our hard work, along with Heather, Mr. Howard, Grant, Ms. Warner, and everyone who helped make this show possible, had finally paid off. 

by Jeff Erazo, '15

Interview with Liz Butler

Watch our backstage interview with cast member Liz Butler, who plays Lady Bracknell in our current production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest!

video interview by Cielo Magana, '15

Opening Night!

As the Green Room began bustling with the sound of hairspray, flipping of scripts, voice warm-ups, and costume adjustments, the audience waited anxiously for the play to begin. Soon, when Merit told us that we had “Five minutes to places,” we knew it was time to get in character and attack!

As you may know, last night was Opening Night for “The Importance of Being Earnest.” After eight weeks of extensive warm-ups, rehearsals, hard work, and collaborate effort, we felt very prepared for the show. Everything that all of us had worked on lead to this very moment. It was time to show our audience what we are made of!

After the show, we had many audience members come up and remark how “the show was really awesome!” or compliment our “impressive British accents.” Overall, everyone had a great time and laughed a lot. However, the show could have not been made possible without the Stage Managers, Director, Assistant Director, Director of Tech, and everyone involved to make this production possible. If you do come to the show, we will have a very fun surprise at the end!

by Jeff Erazo, '15

Tech Rehearsal

With the play right on the horizon, it’s time to get down to business! Tech Rehearsal consisted of everything tech, including lights and sound. Thanks to our awesome stage managers, Merit Glover and Jake Diamond, rehearsal ran smoothly and successfully. The sound and light cues were mostly in place, giving everyone a boost of confidence.

Tech Rehearsal also served as a practice, practice run of the show. Props, hats, jackets and the set were all used. We took notes on our backstage jobs, set change, costume changes, etc. It was a long day, but it really helped us see what we needed to work on. Here’s a short snippet of our first Tech Rehearsal!

by Jeff Erazo, '15
video by Cielo Magana, '15

'Earnest' Load-In

With the show less than a week away, it’s time to get those props ready! Since the play’s time period takes place in the late 1800s, it was difficult to find age appropriate props. However, the Props Crew did an awesome job with organizing and getting everything on time. Also, the walls and other objects on stage had to be organized and spiked in the Shop to make the set change transition easy.


Meanwhile, the Costume Crew made sure all of the costumes were free from flaws and ready to be worn. Some cast members helped around the stage, making sure everything was on order. The rest of the cast members worked on dialect and ran lines. This was also our first long rehearsal, which lasted six hours in total. Hard work really pays off!


by Jeff Erazo, '15

Pre-Line Run

After a four-day break, what’s better than coming back to school and preparing for the next day? Running lines, of course! As you know, the long weekend served as the perfect opportunity for perfecting our dialect, working on our lines, and memorizing our blocking. After getting together for the first time in a few days, we were pleasantly surprised to see the awesome set that Grant had worked on during the weekend. Mr. Howard, Heather and other cast members also came to Allen during their “break” to help out in every way they could.

The line run was a success! Actually, the real line run is scheduled for tomorrow, but we all want to get some practice before the real deal. This will be able to give us a general idea of what we can work on before coming to the line run. After all, we can only get better!

by Jeff Erazo, '15

Fall Break?

Although campus is void from students for the next few days, the Earnest crew has never been busier. Back at Allen Theater, work still needs to be done with the set, lights, sound and much more. Most cast members have returned home, but some cast members that live locally are helping set everything up along with Mr. Howard, Heather and Grant. Not much of a break, huh? With only a week and a half until opening night, this "break" serves as the perfect opportunity to practice our lines, blocking and perfect our accents. Whether work is being done at the theater or at home, everyone is working very hard to make this production awesome!

But how can we run our lines when all of us live far from one another? Luckily, we can use Skype! It serves as a good way to communicate with one another in order to get off book by the time we return to school. Even though we are working diligently during our break, all of us are excited to put our best foot forward during the production.


by Jeff Erazo, '15

Behind the Scenes: Allen Theater

Ever wonder what lies beyond Allen Theater? Well, now is your chance! Take a look at the Green Room, Control Room, the Shop and other localites in Allen. Our beautiful and newly renovated theater is more than just looks; you'd be surprised at what really goes on during our rehearsals. It takes a lot of effort and great people to make this production possible. Since there is only one stage and eight actors, we work outside the theater to run lines, work on our dialect and work on blocking. If you haven't been in a play or are just curious, take a look at this short behind-the-scenes tour of Allen.

by Jeff Erazo, '15

video by Cielo Magana, '15

Light Hang

Every show deserves good lighting, right? With the fall production right around the corner, it’s time to hang the lights! The newly bought lights for Allen Theater will not only provide better lighting, but will allow the audience to see details in our props and costumes much better. Hence, the play will seem more realistic.

Putting up these lights is arduous work, but it definitely will make our performance better. The cast would like to give a special thanks to everyone who participated in the multiple light hangs, including Berkshire faculty who gladly participated last Sunday afternoon. We appreciate everyone's help!


by Jeff Erazo, '15

Mountain Day!

Mountain Day: The one day of the year you don't have classes and you can relax for once. It seems like the perfect deal, but there is a catch... you actually have to go up on the mountain! I know - crazy, right? Mountain day actually being on the mountain? So, we set out for our long and strenuous hike... well that might be a little (or a lot!) of an exaggeration depending on whom you ask, but I know we all had fun doing it. This was a great experience to bond and have fun on one of the last few warmish days at Berkshire. Let me tell you, crazy things always seem to happen when the theatre group does anything. Jenalyn jumped into a reservoir, Jake fell (or was pushed?) down the mountain and there was a race up the mountain.



by Cielo Magana, '15

Set Build #2

During the majority of the second set build, the cast and crew were making stones! Yes, making stones seems like grueling work right? Well, it was… but not in the way you would think. No, we didn’t have to drag rocks down from the mountain and carve them; instead we used blue foam and cut into them and made our own fake stones! Then they were painted the color of stone.
 

In the process, blue shavings were everywhere, which wasn’t the most enjoyable thing, but the theater program always finds a way to have fun no matter what!

by Cielo Magana, '15

A Taste of the British Dialect

While past Berkshire School performances have been awesome, this fall production introduces a particular challenge for the cast. The play, “The Importance of Being Earnest” is spoken entirely in the British dialect. All of the cast members in this production are required to learn and speak in this accent. While it is a difficult task, our hard work has been so rewarding! The excitement for learning this new dialect outweighs the hardships.

Max Miller, who plays Jack Worthing, has made tremendous progress with the accent. Never having spoken or used the British accent, his pronunciation is rather convincing. Watch the video to hear a snippet of his accent and the play!

by Jeff Erazo, '15
video by Cielo Magana, '15

Nails, Wood, and Power Tools!

As Berkshire students eagerly cheered for the home games that took place on campus this Saturday, a lot of work went unnoticed in Allen Theater. The cast of the fall production, “The Importance of Being Earnest,”spent most of the afternoon building the set for the show. Some cast members had never painted, used a power tool before, or have worked with wood.

However,they readily took the task upon themselves and built a platform, which now takes up most of the stage. It definitely was not as easy as it sounds; it took about six hours and lots of sweat! The end result is amazing. 

 

Mr. Howard, director of the play, commented on how “highly impressed” he was with the platform. Now that we have the platform ready, and another set-build on Saturday, the play is really starting to come together. It’s time to take it up a notch.

by Jeff Erazo, '15