No curtains went up, no big stage was filled with props, but the same opening night jitters were there.The school play “12 Angry Jurors” was Friday, Nov. 6 through 8. It was a great start to a three day play where the actors will perform the exact same play three days in a row. The play is actually titled “12 Angry Men” but the title was adjusted to “12 Angry Jurors”.
“Since we have more ladies in the theatre department Mrs. Funkey wanted to change the title to ‘12 Angry Jurors’,” junior Armando Bautista said.
There were other big changes as well. Instead of the play being at the school auditorium it was at Scott Studio Theater on the Hastings College campus. The theater is a box theater, meaning there are seats all around the stage and it is a much more intimate setting. The audience is right next to the actors.
“We have been wanting to do the play here since May of last year. It really suits the play and our hope was the people actually felt like they were in the room when it was happening,” Director Katie Funkey said. “It’s a totally different experience for the actors and the audience and for me as the director, to direct in a thrust which we call people on three sides. It really was just a new experience for everybody,” Funkey said.
The crowd had some different effects on the cast members.
“It freaked me out pretty bad. But in a good way. I’m used to having the audience far enough away that I can’t see them at all. It was, at first, a little hard to focus when there were people two feet from me, but once I got into it I forgot they were even there,” senior Annie Davis said.
There were other people involved in the play rather than just the actors. Senior Emily Block was the Stage Manager for the production.
“We basically all have headsets it’s me the stage director, the light board operator and the sound board operator. Basically what I do is when it’s time to turn lights on I say ‘stand by Cue,’ whatever the cue number the light is going to, and then when it’s time I say, ‘cue (number) go’ and the lights turn off,” Block said.
The play is about a boy on trial for killing his father with a pocket knife. The jurors go into the room thinking that the boy is guilty without any doubt so they take a vote if he is or not. There is one person who thinks they should at least put some time into thinking whether or not he is guilty. They spend quite some time in the room deciding. The play had audience members and actors alike thinking about right and wrong, prejudices, and patience.
