Bring on the drama

The drama department takes a step away from the usual comedy with 'Andersonville Trial'

 

Seniors Eddie Monk and Clare Bonner rehearse for the play. This year's drama is a challenge for many of the participants because it is a different king of production than they are used to. PHOTO BY SARAH SETTER

 

By Matthew Devcich

April 25, 2008

 

Imagine a courtroom drama with bickering attorneys, ethical dilemmas and a man standing trial for war crimes. No, it is not an Oscar-nominated movie or highly acclaimed TV show, but the drama department's newest production, “The Andersonville Trial.”

 

“The Andersonville Trial” will be performed at 7p.m. tonight, tomorrow, May 2 and May 3. Tickets are $8 and may be purchased either through PayPal on the Chantilly drama department's website, www.chantillyhsdrama.com, or at the door.

 

The play takes place after the Civil War and follows the trial of Henry Wirtz, who is accused of war crimes committed at the Andersonville prisoner-of-war camp. This is a change of pace for the drama department, which has put on comedies for the past several years.

 

“We haven't done a drama in a while, so it's time we did one,” director Ed Monk said.

 

There has been an evident change in the mood of the cast while working on the play.

 

“It was really hard because it's dramatic and I've never really done anything too dramatic,” said senior Clare Bonner, who plays the judge advocate Chipman. “Rehearsals aren't really funny and we don't laugh a lot it's very dark and down.”

 

The tone has also been felt by other cast members.

 

“I definitely love comedies but it's fun to switch it up and try something new,” said senior Jennifer Isokowitz, who plays defense attorney Baker. “I'm really enjoying trying this drama.”

 

One reason the drama department chose this particular play is the connections between problems its characters face and modern-day issues.

 

“It's about abuses at a prisoner of war camp, which goes with Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, which are problems we're still dealing with in our country today,” Monk said.

 

The cast has encountered some difficulties with performing the play as well.

 

“Since the play takes place at a trial, there's not a lot of movement,” Monk said. “So it's a lot more intellectual work for the actors.”

 

To compensate for the lack of stage direction, the actors have had to step up their performances.
“Because we're not moving around, there is no action that the audience can watch to distract them,” Bonner said. “You have to do mannerisms a lot more.”

 

Monk instructed the cast to do things such as holding a pen while examining a witness or have glasses to take on and off. The actors have also paid close attention to their tone of voice to keep the audience intrigued.

 

“[I use] very dramatic vocals and expressive gesturing,” Isokowitz said. “[We] change the tempo and volume of our dialogue, which really makes up for not having a lot of action to look at.”

 

Additionally, some of the actors have found their parts to be more difficult than those they had in comedies.
“Because the play starts out with a lot of intensity, there's not a whole lot of time to build up to that,” Isokowitz said. “It's a different approach than my comedic roles.”

 

Another challenge was how to rethink the play to accommodate for the traditionally all-male cast.

 

“We didn't change the script at all except for some minor changes such as ‘she’ instead of ‘he,’ ” Monk said. “Today, we have women in the military, so the modern women are just dressed in modern military uniforms, and the men are dressed in uniforms from the Civil War.”

 

The cast has not felt an evident difference from the change.

 

“I think we’ve adapted it well enough and made the parts our own that the original all-male concept doesn’t hurt the performance at all,” Isokowitz said.

 

The set is yet another different aspect for the play, as the construction and stage crew has built primarily straightforward, realistic sets for the spring play the past several years.

 

“It's a stylistic set for a courtroom so it does have some realistic aspects,” said senior Ben Pardo, who helped to design and build the set.

 

As the set is meant to allow the audience to imagine certain facets, other pieces were built to appear normal. The judge's bench, witness stand and courtroom doors all give the sense of standing in an actual courtroom.

 

“It looks like a courtroom but it's nothing like going to court and that's what you would see,” Pardo said.

 

Even though this is the play the school will submit for consideration for Cappie, a critical awards program where high school students judge the plays, the cast is not worried about what the critics will think.

 

“We hope the Cappies like it, but it's not our main focus,” Monk said. “We want the audience to like it first, and then if the Cappies like it, that's great.”