Set in an airport and telling the story before and in the aftermath of an event which delays a plane flight, the MVHS Theater Department’s premiere of “Delay” by Sam Shannon is set to show Nov. 2 through Nov. 4.
The play will feature immersive theater, a style that is new to the theater department, junior Coretta Foster said.
“If you come to this play, you’re gonna be pretty surprised because it jumps out at you,” Foster said. “I’ve never done a play like this… where the audience gets to participate in the play.”
Because “Delay” will be a world premiere, the theater department has made many unprecedented decisions regarding its stagecraft, including the first lighting design, concept of a set, and staging, Stage Manager Sierra Kelly said.
“We’ve done a lot of comedic shows in the past, but anyone who comes to see this show will definitely see that this one is, I don’t want to say weirder, but maybe wackier and thought provoking,” Kelly said.
The Theater Department tries to pick plays that have meaning to people, and “Delay” has been no exception to this principle, Kelly said.
“It explores some really interesting themes, and I would describe it almost as science fiction, which is definitely new for us,” Kelly said.
Another difference from past plays is that “Delay” is more character oriented, Props Crew Head junior Jeremy Scheirer said.
“We’re not really concerned too much about events that happen, but how all these people who came to [the] airport, [and] how they interact,” Scheirer said.
Kelly said that the most enjoyable part of working on the play is when the performance day finally arrives, after the hard labor of tech week.
“I’m in the booth during the show, but being there and experiencing the moment as the show that you’ve worked on for three months is experienced for the first time by a live audience… there’s just magic in that,” Kelly said.
A common theater belief is that the opening show usually has the highest energy, but the closing show is the best, Foster said.
“This opening show is gonna to be very special because it’ll be [the] world premiere,” Foster said. “We really need to get our energy together, because this is a pretty big deal that our school got chosen to premiere this show.”
One challenge several departments share is needing to improvise during the show. One such occasion was when a light bulb in one of the lamps went out during a previous play, and someone had to get a new bulb up into the catwalks to replace it, Kelly said.
More than a month out from the show, Kelly remembered students spreading the word about the premiere of “Delay,” and encouraging their friends to come see it.
“Everyone gets really involved, not just the cast, but also the tech crew and the entire theater community,” Kelly said.
According to Foster, the director, Pancho Morris, is friends with the playwright, and was able to get a script of “Delay” to read in class, which they voted for over another script.
Foster said that her favorite part of acting is the community that it cultivates.
“The people in the theater are just some of the most welcoming people,” Foster said. “I’ve been doing theater at this school since freshman year, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more at home in any other community than in the theater community.”
