The play, based on the movie based on the popular board game, premieres at the Sagebrush Theater on April 28, 29, and 30.
Grade 12 student Adrianna Shupenia has been working on the play Clue since her 10th grade — playing Mrs. Peacock, the church-going wife of a senator.
Mrs. Peacock is somewhat shy, neurotic and quick to hysteria. Adrianna said she’s a character she can definitely add some of her own personality to.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put South Kamloops High School’s live theater on a lengthy hiatus, with student acting performances seen only through the virtual setting of pre-recorded video on the school’s website. .
This spring, however, live theater returns to South Kamloops High School with the production of Clue: On Stage, written by Sandy Rustin and adapted from the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn.
Discovering “whodunit” is already generating a lot of interest from the school body at large – many students who have also been unable to present their artistic efforts live due to the pandemic.
For Adrianna, finally being able to perform “live” on stage will be a sweet moment, especially for 12th graders who missed the opportunity due to the effects of the pandemic lockdown.
“All the effort we put into this game over the last two or three years, I just felt like it was going to be wasted,” Adrianna said. “Being canceled and then canceled again, but this year we can finally put it on. I think everyone is so relieved and excited to put it on.
It’s a sentiment shared by the play’s stage manager, Alyssa Upshaw, who spent a lot of time working with the cast, managing props, giving lines to the cast and providing support where needed. .
Working on other school productions has given Alyssa unique insight into the impact of the pandemic on her classmates.
Alyssa noted that they had been trying to put the piece together for several years as they faced so many complications.
Some of the students would be cast for the roles they had been cast in in previous years.
“And we didn’t even realize it, they were so good,” Alyssa said.
In January, casting for Clue opened to all students in the school, with priority given to 11th and 12th graders for lead roles.
Drama teacher Amy Fonseca said Paul Cuthbert of Western Canada Theater helped with set construction, teaching students how to properly create sets and how to reuse them for the future.
“It was a lot of hard work, a lot of learning and woodworking,” Fonseca said. “It was a great learning process.”
The cop and crime drama, based on the popular board game, plays at the Sagebrush Theater on Thursday, April 28 (7 p.m.), Friday, April 29 (7 p.m.), and Saturday, April 30 (2 p.m. and 7 p.m.) .
Ticket prices are $10 for students and seniors and $15 for adults and can be purchased at the door or at the South Kamloops secondary office during class hours.
The secondary and adjacent Sagebrush Theater in South Kamloops is located in Sagebrush at Ninth Avenue and Munro Street.
