Valentina Baldini, Arts and Tech Editor
@vbaldinicourant
On November 1 at 7pm and 2 at 2pm and 7pm, NCHS theater will prepare to showcase the fall play, Jack the Ripper. With plenty of laughs, three alternative endings, and jarring plot twists the show will provide a different experience for the audience each night. The play also undergoes some scarier themes and is perfect for anyone who is a fan of history, comedy, mystery, and a dash of horror.
Tickets can be purchased for $17.96 and any additional information on the play can be found here: http://www.newcanaanhighschooltheatre.com/. It’s recommended you come multiple nights to see the different endings and outcomes of the play.
Theater coordinator Chris Myers talks about his thinking process when choosing the fall play this year. “The fall play is Jack the Ripper, the Monster of Whitechapel. It is a comedic murder mystery based on the events of Jack the Ripper in London in the 1880s,” he said. “Part of my decision was based on the fact that the play is falling so close to Halloween this year, so we wanted to go with something a little darker and scarier this year.”
Jack the Ripper provides a new and different ending each show, creating a captivating experience for the audience. “I came across this version of Jack the Ripper and what sold me on it was the fact that it has a great balance of comedy versus scary, and it has three different endings,” Chris said. “This means that each performance, there will be a different murderer revealed, so we really encourage people to come to more than one show.”
Prior to rehearsal and performing, students underwent an audience process to be able to participate in the fall play and get assigned a character. “We asked the students to prepare a one-minute monologue for auditions. It needed to be in the style of the show and we encouraged actors to prepare it in one of the accents used in Jack the Ripper,” Chris said. “After that, we built a callback list and begin the difficult part: casting.”
“We cast on a multitude of criteria, some being skill, work ethic, flexibility, matching, growth potential, and attitude,” Chris said. “It really is a difficult process because we have so many talented, hard working, incredible students, all of whom we would love to showcase the best way possible.”
After students have been assigned a role, they must go through the difficult rehearsal process. “Generally, we rehearse every day, Monday through Friday for about two and a half hours,” director Matt Blank said. “During rehearsal themselves, the students warm up and then we work on a group of scenes. They make sure they get their lines and blocking movement just right, and then find the intricacies in the script that help build our characters and shape the show.”
Not only do the students memorize lines and scenes, but they also take the time to research the event to ensure the play will be compelling and accurate. “This show presented a few unique challenges for the students,” Matt said. “They not only had to research the time period and true events of Jack the Ripper, but also had to learn the four different accents used by their cast for this production.”
Matt collaborates effectively with the sets and costume designers to ensure their visions impact the overall aesthetic of the production. “We love working with the designers so we can lean on their expertise when it comes to completing the challenging elements of the show,” Matt said. “The set designer and his team, composed of students, came up with a very cool concept to bring us around the streets of London as well as inside three uniquely built buildings.”
“The costume advisor as well as the hair and make-up advisor work closely with their students to tell the story through clothes and hair,” Matt said. “Each costume has specific shades of color chosen to compliment each character and what they represent.”
“It really is a fantastic production being performed by some immensely talented actors,” Matt said. “You will forget that you are sitting in New Canaan as you are whisked off to the streets of London in 1888 and thrust in the midst of mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end of the show.”
