What can you expect from the Glen Rock Theatre Company this year?
Photo Credit: Photo Provided by Ms. McKinley
With the help of set designers, costume collectors, stage crew, and members of the theatre company, last year’s fall play “Get Smart” was spoken of as an ultimate success! The theatre company sold many tickets last year and hopes to sell even more this season for its performance of “Great Expectations”.
October 28, 2014
To start, you can have some “Great Expectations” for the Glen Rock Theatre Company this fall.
For its first major performance of the year, the Theatre Company, led by teacher Juliet McKinley for the last three years, has selected Great Expectations.
The play, based on the novel by Charles Dickens, is traditionally performed in England and has infrequently been performed in the United States. It is a richly filled drama that takes place in England during the 1800’s and centers on the life of an orphan named Pip.
The Theatre Company performed the play Get Smart, which took place during the 1960’s, last year.
“This year, I wanted to transport the audience back to a different time and place,” McKinley said. She encourages many students to come and watch the play on Nov. 20, 21, and 22.
If you enjoy Great Expectations, you can expect another great performance during their spring showcase. During the showcase, members will be performing scenes from various plays written by playwright John Patrick Shanley. The showcase will be held during the month of March, but the official date of the showcase has not yet been confirmed.
To finish out the theatrical season, the Glen Rock Theatre Company will continue in its three-year tradition of hosting a playwriting workshop. This 6 -week workshop starts in March and the final performance is in May. It will consist of students writing complete plays (with the help of professional playwrights John Wooten and Clare Drobot) and then staging a complete reading of those plays, as performed by student actors.
As in past years, McKinley strongly encourages students to join the Theatre Company. According to McKinley, she looks for students with creativity, optimism, and new ideas.
Harrison Gale, a junior at GRHS has been participating in the theatre company since her freshman year.
“The theatre company is an open and artistic environment and any idea will not be shot down but instead developed,” Gale said.
For those not interested in performing on stage, McKinley told The Glen Echo that there are other jobs that need to be filled. These roles include stage crew, set design, prop design, costume hunting, hair and makeup, set building, student directors, and light and sound.
