Opening Night- Theater Department Puts On Performance

COLD STAGE, WARM HEARTS 
Dress rehearsals continue for The Snow. Many students consider theater to be one of the most welcoming environments. Raven Campbell (not pictured) said: “Honestly, theater just has my love and I joined theater my freshman year, and ever since I’ve realized how big of a community it is and how big of a family it is.” Theater welcomes students from all walks of life.

COLD STAGE, WARM HEARTS Dress rehearsals continue for The Snow. Many students consider theater to be one of the most welcoming environments. Raven Campbell (not pictured) said: “Honestly, theater just has my love and I joined theater my freshman year, and ever since I’ve realized how big of a community it is and how big of a family it is.” Theater welcomes students from all walks of life.

Brock Sutter, Editor

Opening Night

Brock Sutter, Editor

Lights glare upon an empty auditorium with a busy stage. A group of volunteers are attempting to hoist a wooden scaffold into position onstage. Though it is nearly ninety degrees outside in the Texas sun, these volunteers are bundled in insulating winter apparel.  This is the dress rehearsal for The Snow, the Vista Ridge Theater fall production, and hopes are high for the real thing. 

“[We feel] a little stressed, but I do believe that we can do this,” said prop head Raven Campbell. “[The biggest challenge has been] losing props and trying to find the right placements.” 

 

This year, the theater program will be performing the play The Snow. The shows go from the 13th and 14th at 7 PM to the 15th at 2 and 7 PM in the auditorium. With nearly 100 students participating in the theater productions as well as other extracurricular activities, theater leaders are hard-pressed to find days where every single participant can attend rehearsals.

 

“I would say [the most challenging part is] just kind of working with everyone’s schedules,” said Rhonda Roberts, sponsor of the VRHS theater program. “We try to be really flexible, because we want as many people that can be involved as possible, but it’s difficult sometimes to work with job schedules, work schedules, sports, and all that.”

 

For both Campbell and Roberts, theater has been an integral part of their lives for many years. While Campbell started in her freshman year, Roberts has been a thespian for much longer.

 

“I started doing theater when I was like 4, and I did lots of activities in and out of school, and then I did some stuff in the community, and college, so pretty much my whole life,” said Roberts.

 

Theater is very rewarding for its participants, and students can compete in state and national competitions. For many, the chance to express their passions and be nationally recognized is very important.

 

“So, I taught for 12 years in Garland ISD, which is a suburb of Dallas, and my last year, I knew I was leaving because I was getting married and moving to Austin,” said Roberts.  “The show we did for One-Act Play that year was called Storm in the Barn, and we did really well with it and it was a beautiful and amazing play, and we made it to the state level. Running and doing that whole experience, as well as saying goodbye to this place where I went to high school and directed for 12 years, was a magical experience.”

 

The theater department has worked tirelessly on the performance, perfecting it and making it the best it can be. With the dedication of all the students, the play has come together and is ready to be shared with the world.

 

“It’s opening night, so it better be [a success]. Haha. I think it will be, because we actually had a longer rehearsal period and we have more people in this production than the musical,” said Roberts.  “So I feel it’s going really well because of the nature of the show. We were able to cast a lot of people who have never been in a play before, or it’s their first time at Vista, so it’s been really cool to introduce them to the world of theater here. I do think it’s going to be really successful. It’s a fun and family friendly show, so you can bring your whole family and feel good about it after you walk out. There’s almost 90 students involved, and we have live musicians playing onstage who composed the music for the show. It’s something we’re really proud of, because we like to have all facets of production.”

 

Times and tickets for the show can be purchased at vrhs.booktix.com. The theater department is very proud of the performance this year, so show up and show the department some love. The department will also be producing a musical later this year, so make sure to look out for information about that.

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