Briar Woods High School Theater has been working extraordinarily hard to put together It’s A Wonderful Life for the community. The play is based off an older film about a character named George Bailey, a frustrated businessmen who is shown by a guardian angel what the world would be like if he had never been born. Starting rehearsals in September, the directors, Linsey McDonald and Taylor Body, chose to have three months of preparation instead of their usual one and a half in order to make this show outstanding.
Body and McDonald both talked about one main point for choosing this show, that “one person can make a difference.” They want to leave the audience with a heartwarming feeling and a new sense of self when the play ends.
Both actors and crew have worked hard in many areas, but they all worked on one aspect together – building the productions set, no easy feat for the Theater team. Needing to design and create an 8 foot tall bridge and many little scene cubbies, their Sundays are filled with lifting, drilling, cutting, painting, and chaos taking up the day. Crew and actors work together to make the stage and a visual reflection of production, so the audience can see the world not just hear it.
Actors work almost everyday of the week to rehearse and learn lines, getting practice, blocking, costumes, and advice every night by their directors and peers. Each actor faces different challenges with different solutions. Scheduling conflicts and health are two main factors. Many actors give up time from work or other extracurricular activities to do what they love, act! Each year seems to bring more actors as the freshman join the group.
Crew faced many technical issues for this play. Light placements and gobos, disks that add designs to light, had to be changed and chosen. The light assistant said “planning out the background colors and light depth” was their favorite part. “It really is a joined effort of us and the actors to make the show feel real for the audience and not just another old high school show.”
Overall, everyone participating in the show wants the audience to walk out in amazement carrying the message, “you, yourself, matter.” Come support the Briar Woods Theater on Dec. 4 and 5 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 6 at 2 and 7 p.m..
