The spring play of ‘24 is Pride and Prejudice. Knowing that it is a book students tend to read in high school, “tying it to the curriculum” was something that convinced Amelia Figg-Franzoi, director and production manager, to choose it.
The spring show will always have a special place in Figg-Franzoi’s heart as it was the first play she had ever directed at Homestead. As the spring show is usually with a smaller cast, that does not stop it from being “filled with both the kids who can’t get enough” of theater, but also “new students who join and become addicted as well,” Figg-Franzoi said.
As the students prepare for auditions on Feb. 26, they share some of the ways they prepare and things they enjoy about being involved in the theater.
The audition process, better known by Figg-Franzoi as the “ephemeral essence of acting and how people perceive it,” is not an extensive one. From a bird’s eye view the student walks in, says their monologue, and walks out hoping to later see their name printed on the cast sheet. Sometimes directors look for stage presence, emotions or even a voice loud enough to hear from any part of the auditorium, but for Figg-Franzoi, it is “an essence of something you cannot explain or put your finger on, but you are mesmerized and cannot look away; it’s the ability to act in silence that is a true art and hard to find.”
For Nadia Haswell, sophomore, when “done procrastinating and panicking“ she prepares for her audition by watching and reading the play. Making sure she is prepared, Haswell is sure to have a fully “memorized audition monologue.” Many students like to read the script or watch different renditions of the upcoming play to prepare for their audition. Practicing monologues for auditioning takes all students some time, but the more they are prepared, the more fun they have during the actual auditioning process. Because everyone is so “talented and funny that we always have so much fun together,” Greer Patten, senior, the wide range of students auditioning this year will make for a great production.
As some actors like Nadia Haswell have “no idea” what Pride and Prejudice is and others similar to Addison Dumm who “read it in English and have seen the movie”, the Spring play will be filled with an array of students excited to illustrate the theater community on stage.
