The cast of this year’s States play did not just act out a story; it created one.
The tale of a depressed videogame-addicted teenager who, after a suicide attempt, ends up in a fictitious Wizard of Oz-like Egypt, was entirely written by the cast members.
The process, though complex and time-consuming, gave the cast members a unique understanding of the content, allowing them to act out the exaggerated characters with authenticity.
This advantage helped Wii Dig advance to the semifinals of the Massachusetts State Drama Festival, but it did not go on to the final round.
The cast will perform at the Roberts-Dubbs Auditorium on March 21 and March 22.
The arduous task began on the first day of rehearsals when the actors were given a vague prompt.
Drama teachers Mary Mastandrea and Mark VanDerzee predetermined two features of the script: a parallel universe and relatable teenage struggles.
After completing a variety of semi-improvised scenes, the cast worked to structure its ideas into a solid story.
The director split the cast into groups of two or three and assigned them to work on the same scene.
The entire cast then chose the best elements from the different scenes.
For sophomore Yael Lior and many other cast members, working together could be frustrating at times.
“It’s definitely much harder than I would have thought. Writing a piece with a lot of people, you don’t always get to put in what you want,” said Lior.
Senior Cameron VanderWerf agreed that collaboration is difficult when writing a script, but said that this cast was particularly apt for the challenge.
“There have definitely been compromises, but I think this cast is a very agreeable group of people. That’s made the process very easy so far,” said VanderWerf.
Mastandrea and VanDerzee selected the cast knowing a cohesive group would be essential to this production.
Lior believes being able to craft the script grants the actors more control over a character’s portrayal.
In addition, lines can be written to suit the unique strengths of each actor.
The result of months of endless drafting sessions is a fantastic tale of a girl struggling with boyfriend issues, low self-esteem, an alcoholic mother and a nurturing sister who is abandoning her for Egypt.
Feeling hopeless with her painful videogame-filled life, she jumps off a bridge to kill herself and ends up in a videogame.
According to VanDerzee, the cast got its inspiration from the story of those individuals who have tried to commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif. but failed.
VanDerzee explained that most survivors regretted their choice the instant they jumped off the bridge.
The emotional chaos that must rage inside one’s mind during the moment of descent is the underlying current of the videogame fantasy world, which is meant to mirror real world struggles.
“We try to connect the way the character views a character in real life with the way she views the character in the fantasy world,” said VanderWerf.
Having a script written by teenagers allowed the cast to address typical teenage struggles.
“There is something about the authentic voice that ends up finding its way through there, and they are able to grab on and own the work more because it has come from them,” said VanDerzee. “I think there are elements we can access and relate to in any scene whether it is the reality or fantasy.”
David Ullmann can be contacted at [email protected].
