School Play: exciting, Fast-Paced, and Funny
Theatre Trinity delighted audiences again this week with their rendition of Michael Flynn’s, “You Didn’t Say It Was Haunted”.
Contrasting with their ongoing horror/musical theme, Theatre Trinity showed us an unexpectedly hilarious and very professional looking classic comedic farce, filled with plot twists, compelling characters and tons of laughs.
Scene one opens on the main characters, sassy Pippa (Brianna Mele) and her boyfriend, Ben (Caleb Branco) exploring an apparently abandoned house and preparing for a party they are throwing for their photography club (Kamile Kibildyte, Katie Matheson-Green, Andrea Pace, Vanessa Zizic, Jordan Lie, Aidan Kenny and Jackson Bulthuis). Little do they know that at the same time, eccentric movie director/actor/producer, Mr. Fortune (Luca D’Amico) is auditioning young actresses for his new film, one of whom, Serena (Olivia Ouzounis) is working with escaped convict, Felix Marco (Martin Baricevic) to off her competition (Emma Palozzi, Daniella Pace and Mila Yarovaya). Meanwhile, two other auditionees (Marica Pinnock and Jenna Locke) try to make a quick buck by stealing costumes from the set and are chased by quirky cop (Nicole Lemieux) who inevitably will end up catching the wrong crooks. Nobody knows that The Executioner that previously owned the house (Dillon Holmes) is still running amok.
“[This group of actors was] Fabulous.” says director Mrs. Borsellino. “We had some new [actors], and some ‘veterans’. The new ones learned from myself, Mr. Martino, and the ‘seasoned veterans’. By the end, we were one big Theatre Trinity family.”
‘One big happy family’ was a resounding theme with all of the cast and crew. “The cast is all such a nice little family, that I’m very confident in our ability to perform.” says leading actress, Brianna Mele, before opening night, “A lot of times when things would go wrong, it would end up being really funny, and just brought us all closer together as a cast.”
Everyone involved worked incredibly hard, dedicating two or three nights of their week to run-throughs, and even attending a seven-hour-long rehearsal on the Saturday before the premiere.
However long and gruelling the hours may have been though, the actors enjoyed every minute.
“This was a great way for me to make new friendships and relationships,” says Jackson Bulthuis of his first experience with Theatre Trinity.
Jordan Lie also says that she was excited to try something new: “I’ve always done a lot of musicals, so it was weird to not have to memorize songs and dances.”
In addition to the performing talent, the show also featured creative costumes, superb hair and makeup, and an amazing set and props, including a large wooden coffin that several brave actors and actresses climbed into throughout the show. The transitions between scenes were seamless, and the light and sound crew, directed by Mr. Joseph, were always on their cues.
Other notable parts were the impeccable enthusiasm and devotion by Luca D’Amico (Mr. Fortune), amazingly realistic role mannerisms by Kate Ingman (Mary), and an incredibly convincing accent by Martin Baricevic (Felix Marco).
“It went really smoothly” says Mrs. Borsellino, “We had a very receptive audience; lots of laughs.”
Though both performances went off without a hitch, it was unfortunate that Wednesday's show (originally supposed to be opening night), was cancelled because of inclement weather, but that did not put a damper on anyone’s spirits. “As usual, this was a whole bunch of fun”, says Mrs. Borsellino. “We are so proud of all the students on and backstage.”
The feeling is mutual for all of the actors and technicians. When asked about their directors, comments such as “Perfect”, “We love them!”, “They make everything so easy for us.”, and “We don’t deserve them” were mentioned. Special thanks of course also goes out to Stage Managers Molly Pearson, Jordyn MacFarlane and Allaina Morgani.
“For those who didn’t buy [tickets], you should have.” Says Marica Pinnock.
This is not your last chance to see a Trinity theatre production though. Mrs. Borsellino and the Arts Council are excited to announce that the spring program will be “Fringe,” which will be a series of five one-act plays either written by, or directed by HT students. They will appear on consecutive nights throughout the week, and will feature some familiar faces from, “You Didn’t Say It Was Haunted”, and some fresh talent.
All in all, it was made clear this week that in addition to our strong sports teams and our exceeding academics, Holy Trinity is also home to plenty of stunning acting talent. The next performances by Theatre Trinity are not to be missed.
