It’s taken months and months for Whistler Secondary School’s drama program to splice together the individual pieces that make up last year’s Alice in Wonderland production.
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the show was cancelled, with individual actors having to record their own scenes at home, to be cut together at a later date.
“We’re still in the editing process of putting all those home videos back-to-back together,” says Johanne Nielsen, WSS drama teacher and director. “And we’re almost done, but last year’s show we weren’t able to perform in person, we weren’t even able to meet, and it was hard enough trying to keep student morale—even my morale—up.”
That’s why, when it came time to pick this year’s play, she chose very specifically. “I picked a play that is flexible enough to work within the safety protocols of a pandemic. If need be, the script itself was flexible enough to turn into a Zoom performance as well as also be adapted for the stage. I was like, ‘Heaven forbid, but at least this time we’ll be ready for it.’”
Turns out, that worrying was for nothing. Objection! Disorder in the Court! was livestreamed from the Maury Young Arts Centre stage for a matinee aimed at other students last Friday, March 12. While nearly 200 viewers logged in for that event, there will be another one-time stream on Friday, March 19 for community members.
“We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback and reviews and I’ve even got some reviews from friends in other school districts,” Nielsen says.
The play—starring Brillianna Carson as Casey Licit, Jackson Moore as Mr. Scammerton, and Soren Weetman as Mr. Flops, with 10 other students in supporting roles—is about an innocent tourist, Casey, who gets caught in a murder trial. When her amateur attorney, Mr. Flops, lives up to his name, the charming prosecutor Mr. Scammerton seems poised to win.
“The idea behind the choice for that one was to give a lighthearted, a little bit of comedy feel and to bring some whimsy and silliness and the idea that you can escape a little bit from what is happening in reality … It was a nifty way to escape all of this,” Nielsen says.
For Israel De Real, a Grade 12 student and promotions manager for the production, the escapism came from being able to work on the project in-person with schoolmates.
“This whole production in itself has brought so much joy to our lives, the cast and crew and our school community, and hopefully that whole feeling will transpire in the entire Whistler community,” De Real says.
“We will just reflect on this experience. We were still able to be a light in these dark times. I just love that we made so many memories; it was just invaluable.”
Of course, it wasn’t exactly business as usual, but getting on a real stage—with safety precautious in place—helped make the production feel a little closer to normal, Nielsen says.
“Being in the theatre space gives the sense that this has purpose and this has meaning and the idea of having a theatre space can’t be replaced,” she says. “I’m so incredibly grateful because being there added this whole extra energy, added this whole extra sense of a weight and value to what is being made.”
Catch a second screening of Objection! Disorder in the Court! online at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 19. Tickets are $16.52 at Eventbrite.ca.
Get them—and check out the trailer for the show—at sites.google.com/sd48.bc.ca/wssdrama/objection-disorder-in-the-court/tickets.
