On March 15, 16 and 17, Encore will be putting on a production of ‘Shakespeare In Love,’ based on the 1998 rom-com. For the seniors graduating this year this will be their last full length production. Next up is the Senior Directed One Acts, where seniors will get the opportunity to direct their own play. This year’s production is a departure from the past 7 years of CPGI. Competition Play is a 40 minute play with a set that Encore takes to a different school and performs against other schools, and Group Interpretation is storytelling using the actors as the props, sets and characters. However, this year, the company is doing a full play! This gives the actors and tech the opportunity to really flesh out the show and go all out.
As this is the seniors last big show, I’d like to take some time to reflect on our past four years here with Encore. It all started with our first musical ‘The Theory of Relativity’. I was one of three freshmen on the tech team and the only one on scenic. I had no idea how much this show would change my life. I made lifelong friends and I learned the essentials of theater construction from my crewheads. One of the other freshmen at the time, Marianna Barroso, said “I just generally enjoy doing Encore.” Then the next year the musical was ‘The Addams Family.’ This was such an exciting time because we could finally get back to building shows free of COVID restrictions. However for this show I switched gears and got the opportunity to be an assistant sound designer! Again, I learned so much and met so many incredible people, and our class size definitely grew. For that year’s CP I got my first crack at stage managing and technical directing in the One Acts. Then we had ‘Chicago’ where many of the students from my class got to be in leadership roles. CP and One Acts of that year only expanded that, and of course we have this year’s musical ‘Matilda’ which lighting designer Matt Mayfield called their favorite show. They said “I really loved doing Matilda very, very, very much. Just because of the community that was built around it.”
When asked about this being their last show, Barroso said “I’m a little sad about it. But like I think that the experience that I got from it was honestly like worth everything.” There is an overwhelming sense of sadness but pride in the underclassman. Sophomore Josie O’Rourke said “[the seniors] teach us a lot. And if we have trouble, if you have problems with stuff and you don’t want to go to the adults, they help.” O’Rourke’s goal next year is to follow in the footsteps of Myself and Kate McDonough and stage manage next year. McDonough said “With [Ms. Tracy] taking the lead director role for Matilda. I saw her grow out of her shell and become a lot more comfortable.” Ms. Tracy came to Encore as an adult only a couple of years prior to us, and as we stepped into lead roles on both tech and acting, so did she.
Overall our graduating class is sad to move on from Encore but are excited for the next generation and opportunities to come! To show your support for Encore and its graduating seniors either sign up to be a part of this year’s Senior Directed One Acts or come see the shows this April 26 and 27. As Barroso said “[Underclassmen] should join Encore and stay in Encore and continue being in Encore, because it’s fun”.
