Michael DeMuro ‘27
Sem’s Arts Department at Wyoming Seminary does a new and different type of theater production every term. At the beginning of the year, there is the fall musical. At the end of the year, there is the spring play. In the middle of the year, there is the winter workshop, the best opportunity for one to experience all facets of theater, all in a black box format, which has the audience sitting almost next to the actors while they perform.
Out of all the theater productions, the workshop is arguably the most comedic to watch as a spectator. For actors, it is also very easy to fit it into their schedules because of the flexibility provided by the directors. Depending on how many scenes you are in as an actor, depends on how your schedule is made. You can be placed in different “slates” which are different sets of skits and are shown on different nights. If for example, you are only in one skit, then you will have a lot less rehearsal time than someone who is in three skits. Regarding the process for producing the workshop, as Jason Sherry ‘90 Fine and Performing Arts Chair, one of the directors of the workshop, said, “We start with several scenes in mind that we want to do, and then we hold the auditions… it’s a real process, in the beginning, trying to match actors with scenes and trying to find something to highlight everyone.”
Some of the scenes come from more famous areas of pop culture, such as Saturday Night Live (SNL), or they could be from smaller sources such as indie playwrights. Students are also given the option to write a scene. Regardless of the source, whether the scene makes it into the show depends on how well the scene can be used, and if there are actors that fit the roles provided.
It is not just rehearsal and scenes that make the show, it also comes down to the technical aspects. As for the process, Moira Poepperling ‘25 said, “For tech, I sit upstairs in the booth, and I have to mark up every script as to what cues go where… sound, lights, sound effects, everything.” Everything from a phone ringing to a gunshot, all sound effects have to be prepared and ready to go at the sign of a cue from an actor, which as stated earlier, has to be noted on a master script. Then the people working the tech have to be ready to click the prepared sound effect right on cue, and if it’s missed then it’s missed and the show must go on.
The winter workshop provides many opportunities; new actors are allowed to experience the stage, and seasoned actors can try roles and genres they have not tried before. Next time that the winter workshop is premiering, go watch your peers on the stage, and perhaps you will be inspired to step onto the stage yourself.
