Setting the Stage for Hysterical Truths
While most students were sleeping in last Saturday morning, the crew of Drama Club woke up at 9 AM to spend 7 hours at the high school working on the set of their upcoming play. By the soccer fields and the senior parking lot, they built walls and rooms and furniture out of a trailer full of supplies that seemed hidden in plain sight.
November 13, 2019
Shards of sunlight and bits of laughter cut through the early November air. Not quite cold enough to see your breath, but just chilly enough for numb fingers and pink noses. It’s in this refrigerator that the crew of Drama Club brings scenes to life out of buckets of paint and planks of wood that will form the set of Hysterical Truths: The Short Plays of David Ives. In this collection of six one-act plays, Ives tells unique stories featuring different characters and settings. That’s code for “twice the amount of sets to build,” according to Nimai Sanikop, who plays the patient in Dr Fritz, Or: The Forces of Light.
Masha Halushkov, crew member and bucket hat enthusiast, holds the cutout of a wooden plank that will become a book. Even on a sleepy Saturday morning, her spirit is tangible. “[Set building] is so much fun,” she says. “It can get messy at times, but it’s such a bonding experience. I love it.”