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Clue! Writeups

Theater Side

ABOUT

What is Clue?

Clue was the name of the Senior Production for Drama. It is a roughly 90-minute show, circumnavigating the events in Boddy Manor, where a horrific murder took place, and all the guests are culpable.

 

The Senior Production is the general name for the spring production that TNS Drama puts on every year. It is usually spearheaded by Seniors, and they often play a leading role in the performance. Other Senior Productions that have been done in the past were A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Our Country’s Good, She Kills Monsters and Inspector General.

What was your role in Clue?

My role in Clue was multiple things. At the heart of it, I was the core for the tech side of the show. The other senior in the show, Olle Wurtzel, was the lead character Wadsworth. I directed the show, helped design the sets, helped design the lights, and also played two minor roles in the show: Mr. Boddy, the victim in the beginning of the show and two instances of a Cop character, one who gets murdered in the climax of the show, and the other who helps arrest the murderer. I wore multiple hats for the show and loved every one of them.

 

Biggest Struggle?

There were two major struggles for this show. The first was the timeframe that we had for the show. We had a late start, and only had about 8 weeks from passing out the scripts to showtime. That put a ton of pressure on both the acting and tech side. Acting side had to rehearse like crazy and get the lights down in a real short amount of time. Tech had to design and create all the physical elements like the set and all the props.

 

The second major struggle was COVID. The pandemic overall just was a handicap to the show, especially as it was a project that really relied on people being in-person. Unfortunately not everyone was able to make it in-person. Two students were completely virtual for the whole performance and it meant that we had to figure out how to work them into such a physical show. In the end they helped with lines and their voices will be dubbed over the physical actors when the video version of the show comes out.

What did you learn from it?

I learned a TON from this production overall. The major areas were just the flow of a production and more experience with how to direct a show like this. The flow of production was really important for me to learn. The previous “major-scale” show that we did was She Kills Monsters from the previous year. My role there was just Lighting Designer, and we had a ton of things already put in place for us like a set and a lighting grid (with lights already hung). Working with Jeff and Joey (Jeff’s assistant for the show) was really helpful to just see how the masters approached a show like this.

 

For directing in general, I learned more how I like to direct, and the way I like a show to flow. A lot of it is physical comedy, with very snappy movements that are well choreographed. Oftentimes, when story beats happened, the actors would all make grandiose movements that were plain ridiculous. A lot of the movements that actors would make were also carefully timed. Whether or not the movements actually came through in the end is a different story. My inspiration for many of these movements were from Edgar Wright, one of my favorite directors just because of that style of quick and timed movements.

 

Film Side: Rachel & Graham

 

What is Clue?

For film, Clue became a test of our skills as adapting filmmakers and editors working with people outside of our elective for the first time. It was a chance to learn how creating a film of something else, for someone else, works. While it has been very different from the smaller, more personal projects we’ve done in the class, it’s been incredibly rewarding to assist the TNS Drama class in sharing their production with a wider audience than just who could make it to the performance. 

 

What was your role in Clue?

 

The film class primarily documented the behind the scenes and final performances of the show. Because of covid restrictions, not as many people could see the show live like in past years. By recording it, we have made an opportunity for more people than ever to see the show for years to come. We also took over compiling and running all the sound effects which were used within the show. 

 

Biggest Struggle?

 

There were quite a few struggles working on this project. There were communication errors, faulty equipment, missing equipment, time crunches, and probably more that I’ve blocked out for sheer benefit of my psyche. That being said, we are very keen on thinking on our feet so even when problems do arise we’re capable of finding a solution quickly. The biggest struggle that comes to mind for me is sound. We compiled all the sound effects for the show (which adds up in a 90-minute production) and then mapped them to a piano keyboard so that someone could press a button and the effect or music would play. This was all done within around 5 days of the first show and was quite the crunch.

 

What did you learn from it?

 

Through this project, we learned a lot about how to apply what we learned in the classroom to working in a semi-professional space with people who were depending on us. We also learned a lot about adapting to other people’s expectations for a project. We went into this with one understanding of the final product and as things progressed, the final product changed quite a bit. But it still remained a fulfilling and fun experience.