Aubrey OAP shares final performance
The cries of the past rang out from the Aubrey One Act Play cast during their final public performance of 'A Light in the Darkest' on April 17.
Before a crowd of family members and friends, the cast and crew performed the play that helped the thespians make it the furthest they have as a 4A school.
'We made Aubrey history by advancing out of district for the first time as a 4A,' Director Emily Rome said before the production. 'The last time they advanced out of district was when we were a 3A in 2013.'
The production, which advanced to the area round of competition, tells the story written by Michael K. Ward of the matchstick girl riots in London in 1888.
'I know how much of an impact Annie made on these girls and these women in the past,' said Hailey Warren, who played Annie, a muckraking journalist who put her reputation on the line to speak up for the factory workers. 'And so, it was challenging to try and [portray] her correctly, but also it felt really nice to tell her story and really let everyone get moved by the story as much as I have.'
The cast of 15, three alternates and three crew members all worked together harmoniously to tell the story, Warren said.
Chloe Torres, who played one of the matchstick girls as well as the newsboy, described the group as 'kind of like family.'
'We can make them feel such emotion because of what these women went through, how hard they fought for their rights,' she said.
For Margaret Quade, bringing the lead striking matchstick girl Maeve's story to life was an honor.
'It was doing research for the play and getting to read some of the quotes from the women that they didn't think anyone would remember what happened in 20 years but it didn't matter as long as it changed what they did [then], so it was getting to that [136] years later to tell their stories again and getting to show that again that just meant a lot to me,' she said.
Throughout the performance, the actors portrayed the unfair working conditions experienced by the women, including being forced to go to the company doctor who damaged their health more, being penalized monetarily for basic human needs such as going to the restroom and being harassed by the floor foreman.
'We were telling the women's stories and how they changed most of everyone's life by standing up,' chorus member Ashley Gatsi said.
Chorus member Breanna Grierson echoed that, saying the story had made her cry.
'To advance, it meant a lot,' she said.
Not everyone got to play the protagonists in the story.
Mitchell Ermey, who played the foreman, and Jodee Brockett, who played the Bryant and Mays Specialty Safety Match factory owner Mr. Bryant, had to stretch to play personalities unfamiliar to their own.
'It was difficult, but I think that the character was needed to tell the story,' Ermey said. 'I really did enjoy it. This was actually my first time ever acting. It's very different from doing tech, but I love it. I love being on stage and acting with everyone else.'
For Brockett, finding and staying in a masculine place throughout the performance was a fun challenge.
'It was who I wanted to be,' she said. '… It was hard to get the dynamics correct of who that character is because I don't usually play characters like that.'
Kale Stephenson, who handled lighting and sound, loved being able to help shape the atmosphere for each scene.
'I love that I was able to be given this opportunity, and I'm so glad I was able to bring this show to life,' she said.
Rome, who is proud of the success her students had this season, hopes to continue to build the program.
'The way that they grasped onto the characters and they researched the characters and the story and they just wanted to [do] it justice and how much love that they put into it, which was clearly shown on stage, that just let me know that I can take them to a whole other level that I didn’t know that I could, and they taught me that,' Rome said.
