This play is a series of scenes all set around the dining room table, as the title suggests. From a jovial, yet tense birthday party to a dramatic father and daughter confrontation, Collingwood’s actors – both experienced and new – put in their best effort and brought the stage to life with their marvelous acting.
As an audience member, I was unable to take my eyes off of the stage for the entire performance. All of my worries for various tests and exams disappeared as I found myself getting more and more immersed into each scene. When it was all over, I walked out of the theatre, still thinking about the memorable characters I had seen. It took me a while to return to reality.
It is evident that the play was a great enjoyment for the other viewers too, as English teacher Mr. Pimentel gives a positive review:
“’The Dining Room’ production was excellent! I loved all the scenes, and appreciated the nuanced humour as well as the more serious dramatic moments. Harry Fuller and Parsa Tehrani’s scene near the end was really special for me. All in all, great performances and direction.”
Indeed, The Dining Room included a myriad of both tear-jerking and laughter-inducing scenes and showed off the versatility of our school’s talented dramatic students.
Jennifer Lo, a budding actress who played the role of Beth, had a few things to say about her experience being part of the cast:
“The best moment I would say is the first time I saw everyone clothed in actual costume and rehearsing on stage. That made it so real, and everybody was so good at acting I could just feel that it was going to be a great show.”
When asked how she felt while being on the stage and acting, Jennifer responded,
“I was kind of nervous when I first performed, since ‘The Dining Room’ was my first play ever. But as I performed in more shows, I started to feel okay, and I acted more natural. During the first show, I was shaking so badly on stage and sweating so much as well, but on the last show, I was really comfortable with acting in front of everyone.”
From the first performance to the sixth, every actor graced the stage with unwavering passion and dedication. It is safe to say that all the practicing, memorizing, and rehearsing these tenacious actors did paid off. And, of course, we must acknowledge the professional duo of Mr. Wener and Mr. Schaldemose, as well as the others who worked behind the scenes, for their tireless work.
By: Elisa Sung