The spotlight shines down on the faces of the CHS9 actors rehearsing the fantasy play, “Still Life With Iris,” enthusiastic for the upcoming show.
CHS9 theater performs Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.at Coppell High School 9th Grade Campus Auditorium.
“We have been working on this play since the beginning of January,” CHS9 actor Amy Paek said. “Our amazing directors [Eugenia] Montoya and [Colin] Thomas came up with the idea to perform this play.”
The play fixates on Iris, a young girl on a journey in search of her lost memories to find comfort and restoration in her life. The cast of “Still Life With Iris” incorporates emotions into their characters, solidifying their role in the play and emphasizing the different personalities sprinkled throughout the show.
Coppell freshman Akshita Gunasekaran expresses the work she put into her acting, claiming the lead of the play as Iris.
“For this role, I have to embody the presence of a young girl and have that playful essence to myself while also making sure that I remember my character is mature for her age,” Gunasekaran said. “At the same time, I also have to add value to her main characteristic, her curiosity. Sometimes making sure I have all these emotions while acting can be hard but looking back into the script and seeing why my character acts like this helps me feel more connected to her.”
Each rehearsal guides the actors toward improvement in fully encapsulating their character through cooperating and supporting one another.
“The work I put into my acting is showing up to rehearsals with a positive attitude and mindset,” Paek said. “I’ve gotten to learn how to use more emotions to let the audience feel what the actors are feeling.”
CHS9 theater director Colin Thomas oversees the production of the play and provides support and dedication towards the actors and crew members.
“Anytime our actors are in a scene together, they help carry each other throughout the story,” Thomas said. “Our actors don’t realize how much they work and play off of each other. Outside of the actual rehearsal, we see and hear them talking about scheduling when they need to be at the school for rehearsal or the things they need to bring the next time we see them. Specifically for our actors, our rehearsals wouldn’t be successful without everyone working together.”
Behind the scenes of the production, multiple crew members work together to create special effects to enhance the play.
“The most enjoyable part of working with the cast has been seeing our props and set being used by the actors,” CHS9 scenic and prop designer Max Victory said. “It’s really fun watching actors use a prop in a different way than we originally thought it could be used in a scene.”
The CHS9 theater crew is thrilled to perform a play where it contributes to making a successful show.
“If we create a bond when we all get together on stage and perform, it will be easy for us to perform and the chemistry between us actors will look even more realistic,” Paek said. “Working with the actors has been a phenomenal experience and I’m so grateful to work with them.”
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