LAKEWOOD — Lakewood High School’s “Vintage Hitchcock: A Radio Play” represents a first for the school on a number of fronts.
From its genre to its staging, the student performers are running the show themselves.
LHS senior Aria Juchmes, a fan of both Alfred Hitchcock and the suspense genre, was trying to find material for a one-act play, when she stumbled upon a trio of such plays that Hitchcock wrote for radio.
Rather than building sets to match the stories, Juchmes decided to present them on a stage designed to resemble a 1950s radio studio. Actors are clad in black and white to match the TV of that time.
“I was drawn to this idea because we’d never done anything like it before,” Juchmes said. “So that we won’t be sanding stagnant the whole time, there will be a few moments when we break the fourth wall, and run around the entire theater.”
Juchmes took over directing in addition to acting, leaving LHS drama teacher Rebecca White to serve only as the play’s producer.White’s typical role as business manager has also been taken over by a student, Gavin Urquhart, for the first time.
“I’m primarily interested in acting, but I was interested in the other side of production,” Juchmes said. “I want to know everything about the process. I found out it’s hard to coordinate a cast without distractions.”
Another first for this Lakewood play is its live music, courtesy of freshman pianist Palina Buchanan.
Buchanan composed the musical score, after a week of sitting in on rehearsals. She admitted some improvisation still comes into play.
“In the script, it says that the music is inspired by the theme of the Alfred Hitchcock show, so I incorporated its keys into the backbone of my work,” Buchanan said. “My dream is to compose music for epic movies like the Lord of the Rings.”
Juchmes and White agreed that the cast and crew have taken it even more seriously than previous plays, and they hope audiences will appreciate the results.
“Vintage Hitchcock: A Radio Play” will start at 7 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday of Feb. 13-14 on the LHS stage, with an additional matinee showing at 1 p.m. Feb. 14.
Tickets are $6, $4 for senior citizens and students in ASB.
