Drama 2 held its annual Halloween show featuring four classic fairy tales with dark twists.
This year, the selected fairy tales were “The Pied Piper”, “Hansel and Gretel,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Snow White.” Drama 2 students have worked on each of their fairy tales since around the beginning of October and did not disappoint with their performance. The student’s skill and incorporation of sound effects and twists made these already creepy stories come alive. The students performed their scenes in a showcase on Oct. 31 during first period, to an audience of about 200 teachers and students.
The first performance was “The Pied Piper.” In this performance, the dark twist originates with the children who were left behind in the original story; in this new version, they get killed off one by one by the Pied Piper. The acting and music were easily the best parts. The music and sound effects supported every scene, whether creaks from a swing when the room was silent or the Pied Piper’s creepy whistle that echoed through the audience. The sound design also added a creepy tone throughout the show and made my skin crawl during the killing and fight scenes. “Take the music out of a horror show and it seems ridiculous,” sophomore Emme Gerhard, who played Eleanor the blind kid in “The Pied Piper,” said. “The Pied Piper” drew gasps from the audience and was a thrilling start to the show.
The next performance was “Hansel and Gretel.” Along with “The Pied Piper,” “Hansel and Gretel” had great music, although its visual effects were weaker. The music added an extra ominous feel that made up for some of the weak acting. However, in some areas, there were longer pauses while waiting for a light cue, which disrupted my immersion in the performance. Although this story suffered from weaker acting than the previous, the final twist of Gretel remaining in the candy house and becoming the witch served as a powerful ending. In this version, Gretel kills the witch in a big fight scene before becoming the witch herself, enslaved by a curse to trap anyone else who eats any of her candy house. “In the original “Hansel and Gretel”, it doesn’t really have a good conclusion so we thought of [the curse] to make it more interesting,” sophomore Riley Guymon, who played Hansel in “Hansel and Gretel,” said.
The third story was “Beauty and the Beast,” which had my favorite twist. In the original “Beauty in the Beast,” the beast turns back into a handsome prince in the end. In this performance, the story ends with the Beast killing his own henchmen and dancing with their corpses in his ballroom. In the beginning, the acting was awkward and not as convincing, but quickly ramps up towards the end, finishing their story beautifully and more natural. On top of realistic emotions, the music was a big factor in helping creep people out. “Beauty and the Beast” fit the spooky theme best and had the most shocking twist.
The last act was “Snow White,” my favorite show overall. The eerie music filled the dramatic pauses, the well-timed lighting complemented the amazing acting, and the twist was insane: the evil queen cut her children’s faces to make them uglier than her. While it may not have had a more shocking twist than “Beauty and the Beast” or better music than “The Pied Piper,” “Snow White” was the most entertaining performance.
On top of the writing and acting choices, the lighting and sound effects gave each performance a unique atmosphere and feeling. Senior Maple Davis, who is also the TA for Drama 2, was in charge of the sound design while Juniors Louis Lunt and Eliana Meyers helped with the lighting design.
Within only two weeks, students had to choose their fairy tales, write their scripts, and develop their unique plot twists. There were appropriately thrilling death scenes that were perfect for Halloween and drew gasps from the audience. On top of preparing for their fight scenes, the students also learned how music and lighting play a huge role in any play, especially those with a darker tone. Overall all of the shows were incredible and the long hours and preparation from the Drama 2 class showed. “[The students were really excited about [the halloween play] and now it almost becomes like a rite of passage,” drama teacher Heather Cousins said.
