Let Them Eat Cake!

Yesterday the cast met for the first time to do a read-through of the script for "Anything Goes." The energy from auditions carried through to the read-through, and the whole group had a lot of fun. Everybody who auditioned is now part of the cast, and it seemed to me everybody was excited to be a part of it.

When people arrived at the read through, there was a circle of about 30 chairs on stage. The cast sat down, and within the period of three hours they read through the script. There script gained a lot of laughs, which just made people more excited to get involved with this production. It is one thing to read the script to yourself, but when it is read aloud a lot of things that might have been unnoticeable in silent reading came through. I will say one thing though; if you are a fan of puns, this show is definitely for you. Every time a song was written to occur in the script, we all listened to the song from an iPod hooked into the amazing sound system at Allen theater. It was a nice thing to see how the songs play off the script, and it was a lot easier to imagine how the scene is played out when you hear both the music and the dialogue.

One major thing that Mr. Howard brought up yesterday at the read-through was how challenging it will be to keep the feel of the musical, but still make it relevant to today. A lot of the humor is far off from our everyday jokes, and the songs are a throwback to a completely different time. It is going to be a fun task to try and convey the feel of the time "Anything Goes" was written, but still "wink an eye" at the audience, as Mr. Howard says. It is going to take the hard work of everybody in the cast to pull this off, and everyone will play a crucial role in the big picture of this show.

The last big thing about read-throughs is the tradition of cake. Cake is a wonderful thing; it is delicious, festive, and can always brighten your day. Therefore, it makes sense that there is cake at every read through, and the cast is free to quietly get up and cut themselves some cake during the course of the read through. It is just a little something else to look forward to when coming to read-through, and it was the finishing touch on the great time yesterday.

by Conor Ryan, '15

The Cast List

Congratulations everyone on being members of Anything Goes!

This is the cast list for Berkshires School’s winter production, Anything Goes. It was posted on the board in Allen Theater on the last Thursday after the three amazing audition days. On the list, there are all of the 18 auditionees casted!

After experiencing their wonderful and fabulous talents on auditions, the directors and crew members were gathered in a film classroom to decide the final casting. As a result, all of the auditionees happily got their roles which fit into each of them perfectly. Everyone is already excited and ready to come out on the stage for the first day of being a member of the production. We hope everyone had a wonderful time to refresh and recharge 100% over the break. GO BEARS!

by Michelle Chang, '15

Anyone Auditions

Berkshire School's production of Anything Goes is off to a wonderful start. Auditions took place this week and an enthusiastic crowd of kids came out to give it their all. Auditions are a nerve wracking process for all who are involved, but they are also fun and give newcomers to the theater program a chance to show what they can do. Auditioning for the musical is not just a one day event, but something that takes place over a couple of days and has the prospective actors singing, dancing, and, well, acting.

The first day of auditions was filled with excitement which carried on throughout the rest of the audition process. Everybody gave their all on the stage and there were a lot of good surprises. Actors were asked to memorize a monologue and then perform it on stage. After which, Mr. Howard gave each person a direction (usually a pretty wacky one), and the auditionees had to perform their monologue again, but adding in the new direction. These led to some pretty hilarious moments and the students who were auditioning were very supportive of each other the whole way through.

Today the music and dancing auditions were held. Students had been asked to learn a piece of music to sing, and everybody did a great job with their song. It was a very comfortable and supportive atmosphere, and like with the acting auditions, everybody really gave it their all. After that, the auditionees learned a couple of measures from the song "Friendship," from Anything Goes. They were then asked to sing in unison, and then in harmony. There was a short break and then auditions launched head on into the dancing portion. Mrs. Schleunes taught the students her great choreography to the first portion of the song "Anything Goes," and after an hour, everybody knew the moves and were asked to go through them in pairs. It was a hard task to do, and all the students did an amazing job at it.

Auditions are frightening things, but also very rewarding. Even if you go to an audition, but don't get cast, it is a great learning experience and helps you be even better prepared for the next one. Everybody who came out for auditions did an amazing job and it is easy to say that this production is off to a great start!

by Conor Ryan, '15

A “Wicked” Experience

The bus bustled with excitement as everyone got on board to Schenectady. This past Sunday, the Music and Theater programs took a group of students to see the widely popular production of Wicked. Making sure to look spiffy, we rode to Proctors. Many of us had never seen the show before, but we couldn’t help but being excited. We were really in for a treat!

We stopped on the way to grab a quick dinner at Panera. Once we got to the theater, we were amazed at how fantastic the place looked. Once the house was open, everyone scurried into the theater to find his or her seats. We couldn’t help but gasp at how awesome the set was! The show finally began and the crowds applauded as characters, such as Elphaba, sang the memorable song, “Defying Gravity.”

After leaving Proctors, we couldn’t help ourselves reiterating how great the show was. We all had a blast and definitely loved it. I would definitely encourage others to see it, for it’s a really great show.


by Jeff Erazo, '15

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