Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. SHOWTIME! The West drama department stood in the blinding spotlight to showcase their hard work and dedication from April 25-27 in the Alberta Kimball Auditorium. Queens follows the notorious story of King Henry VIII, but with a twist: he is trapped in purgatory, bound to his throne by sinister fools, where he is forced to relive the sins he committed against his six queens, mistresses, his children, and people of England, over and over again for eternity.

Sophomore Sam Raybern, who played Anne of Cleeves, experienced the long grueling hours that come with putting together a play.

“Rehearsals were a little hectic and a little tiring, but very rewarding,” she said. “We’ve all been a little nervous about how fast we were moving. But when I look back and see how far we’ve come, it's amazing what we can put together.”

With every production, there are always bumps in the road. For the cast of Queens, they had a setback along the way with having to change a lead role two weeks in. Senior Marcus Miller, who filled in as Henry VIII in the dreams of Henry in purgatory, had a different experience than in previous years..

“The process this year has been much less intense than past years due to the 3:45-6 rehearsals instead of 6-9. This makes the rehearsal process actually pretty breezy. But that being said, I did join the cast two weeks late, so I didn't commit myself that entire time,” he said. “This year we are moving at a pretty frantic pace, trying to get everything done, so it’s a short amount of time but very packed rehearsals.”

The world seemed to have a grudge with the cast and crew of Queens, as many obstacles came in the way of the delicate process, but they persevered. Director and English teacher Scotti Thurwatcher faced these challenges head on.

“I think people seem to like the show for the most part. We just struggle with getting everyone to show up, which impacts the rest of the cast,” he said. “In theater, we need other people to work off of, and when those people don't show up, the others aren't able to learn from them.”

Several of the cast members, being new to theater, struggled to adapt to the new environment, with a lack of motivation getting in the way of the rehearsal process.

“I think the problem is, in any play, people think if they're not a lead, then they don't care,” Thurwatcher said. “Some think they have small roles, they think they are insignificant so they don't put as much into it. By this point, we should be well past all of that. The timing and calendar has been against us.”

Junior Julia Skinner, who played Anne Boleyn, found it difficult to keep up with all the moving pieces.

“I feel the biggest struggle of the show was probably just putting everything all together,” she said. “I kind of feel it’s just this one big puzzle we were trying to put together. There are a lot of moving pieces, like Henry’s throne.”

Being new to theater is always nerve racking, especially when there's a new opportunity at play. Freshman Mikayla Stowe played Kathryn Howard. With this being only her second show, she was thrust into the responsibilities of a lead role.

“This experience was very jarring, honestly, because I have not really been in many shows, so to suddenly have a huge monologue in this show was really crazy and also a little bit terrifying,” she said. “I was in an Annie Jr. musical in 7th grade, but this was so different. This is like real theater. I consider this year to be my actual first time doing theater.”

Also getting her feet wet was freshman Grace Schellinger, who played one of fools. Schellinger found the experience thrilling.

“My favorite part of the show would have to be being the fool because it's such a playful role and I got to bounce around everywhere,” she said. “My favorite part of being on stage is that you're always performing -- the lights, and the costumes, and the makeup, everything is so real, it was very exhilarating for me.”

Alongside Schellinger, senior Addi Peck played the second half of the fool and found this role to be a new opportunity to expand her acting skills.

“The hardest part was keeping up the energy for my role, because it seems like the Fools are always skipping, dancing, or jumping,” she said. “We also were on stage for 90% of the show, so I needed to remind myself to always be reacting.”

It was also sophomore Wilson Clark’s first performance in a production at West, having played Henry Vlll in purgatory, he too faced some challenges.

“I think rehearsals went well, but I haven't been in a play for two years, so it was kind of just getting back into the swing of things. I've done stage crew for the One Act last year and this year, so this is the first production I have acted in at West,” he said. “It was sort of interesting. It’s not a part I was expecting to get because I wasn't expecting to be the villain. He's very misogynistic, and just not a good guy.”

Miller, a drama veteran, guided the young faces of the cast, allowing them to showcase their own talent.

“My favorite part was definitely working with the actors and engaging in dynamic performance, like one of my favorite scenes was the one I do with Mikayla, the letter scene. She was incredible in that, she gave such a vulnerable and terrified performance,” he said. “Playing a crazy character like Henry, it's really fun to play off of that, and embrace the lunacy when you have someone who's so good at reacting. It really just brings the entire show up.”

Senior Gianna Gleason, who played Catherine of Aragon, recognizes the talent of the underclassmen as well.

“I think it was fun seeing all the freshmen because last year, a lot of good talent graduated, so it’s nice to see what the freshmen are bringing to the table,” she said.

Thurwatcher wishes his students would see all they are capable of in the theater world, as well as what all their cast members can do. The effort that goes into a production like this should be recognized.

“The thing I've always hoped is that students will learn the great things that they're capable of doing, and seeing their peers and the great things that they’re capable of doing,” he said. “My greatest hope is that everyone appreciates those around them, and the things that they can do, because there’s so much greatness, and so many cool things happening.”

It can be intimidating to see others similar in age being so successful, but appreciating what others do, pushes actors to be the best they can be.

“It’s okay to be blown away by someone that’s your age; it’s okay to appreciate what others do,” Thurwatcher said. “I don't think we spend enough time lifting each other up. I would love to have a cast where everyone is lifting each other up, and just being a part of the experience. Embrace the time that you have and get to see what you can accomplish.”

Skinner saw the greatness that her fellow actors accomplished.

“It was pretty good, I was really happy to see all these people show their different acting abilities and to be able to work with a lot of different people,” she said.

Though the performance is important, the stage crew also worked incredibly hard to make this tech filled show a success. Stage manager and senior Logan Kiselewski found the experience quite manic.

“I decided to take this on because I've seen other stage managers do this, and I've been involved in stage crew since 9 to 5, and being a stage manager has never been my plan,” he said. “It's very hectic, making notes, keeping up with what's going on, and trying to remember things from day to day.”

Thurwatcher expects the drama department to soar with all the new talent from underclassmen; he’s hopeful that they will take the program far for the next generation.

“I’m really excited for the program itself, because we had a lot of talented young people in this show, in all kinds of different capacities.,” he said. “I think the drama program here is in really good hands; we have some really strong sophomores and freshmen that I think are going to carry it a long way.”

by Tenna Ruetten and Rin Fox

Published April 29 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue VII

‘Queens’ offers audience purgatorial pleasure