Written by: Calum Joubert
Play Review
November 16th, 2016
“Fall of Orpheus” was a play written by the Homestead High School One Act class and the illustrious Amelia Figg-Franzoi. It was directed by the teacher with the help with the many actors and crew. I saw it performed on Saturday, November 12th. It was their showcase performance for people at Homestead High School in the new Performing Arts Center. The play and One Act Class will be performing the play at the State competition this year. There were many attributes and recommendations I have towards the play itself. Overall it was a fantastic use of props and acting to create an entertaining piece.
There were four fantastic elements in the play. The first being the use of music throughout. The sounds and music used were perfectly fitted and well created by a Mr. Phillip Zuccaro. It was used in numerous settings to set the mood and make the changing of scenes less awkward. Especially the times when the actors themselves had to move the stage around to change the scene. The music played by the main protagonist, Orpheus created a good feeling in the audience and connected well with the love between the two main characters.
To continue, another fantastic attribute to the play was the use of lighting and darkness. The use of color in each scene was favorable to the eyes of the audience. It put a spotlight on important people and props throughout the play. For example, when Orpheus and Eurydice were both talking to themselves about Orpheus turning around before leaving the underworld. The lighting really helped to focus on what was important and take away from the commotion in the background. The lighting was also well used to speed up or slow down a certain part of the scene, for example when Orpheus slowly looked back.
Another fantastic attribute to the play was the use of clothing and costume. I loved how the white costumed actors were used in numerous ways to create trees, floating portals, or waves. The white was perfect because it showed the color of the lights but also helped us to focus on the colorful main characters. The costumes used in the beginning showed life and death in each character and you were able to tell who was malevolent or not.
Lastly, a fantastic attribute was the well-written script by the cast themselves. The use of numerous high vocabulary suited the time this story takes place. The scenes with the Fates had amazing use of language and helped the viewer to connect with how the people actually wrote and spoke back then. I, myself, enjoy stories of greek gods and the actors perfectly portrayed the accents and vocabulary I have seen in movies and stories.
If I had to compare or contrast this performance with others I have seen, I would first say that the use of inexpensive items by this play was really good. All the the other times I have seen a play, the setting and props used were very expensive and not well used. The use of props in “Fall of Orpheus” made sense to what was happening in the story. The acting in this play was amazing for high school play, although the acting of the professional plays I have seen was good, the way the actors performed this play was way above par.
In the final analysis, my expectations coming into the play were not very high for I felt that since it was written by a class and the props weren’t going to be as impressive as what I’ve seen before. Also, since the actors were just in high school, I felt the acting was going to be below par. But my expectations were blown out of the water, I am utterly surprised at how great this play was written and performed. I’ve learned so much about how to catch an audience’s attention through use of color and language. The teacher and students of the class truly understand how to entertain an audience and without a doubt, I believe this One Act class should take state easily. There isn’t a better written and performed play in the state.
Act Out 