By Dasha Ialovega
11/19/19
Lit and Performance IB
Tiny being in a huge world
The play is about an autistic 15-year-old boy named Christopher, who is trying to solve a mystery behind the murder of his neighbor's dog called Wellington. At the beginning of the play, Christopher's father, Ed, tells him that his mother, Judy, died due a heart attack, but during Christopher's investigation into Wellington's murder, he finds the letters his mother wrote to him in his father's bedroom, which would then open Christopher's eyes on the situation. Later on, he runs away to London, where Judy lives with her new partner, Roger.
The choices on the staging made by the production were extremely effective. For example, the scene where Christopher was on his way to London and he had to enter the train, Amelia (the actress) stepped over the LED lights line to the "outer area" of the stage. The entire space was used thoroughly and every character's positioning was thought through very carefully. The actors were not standing in the same place the entire time but were moving around and using the space wisely.
The color scheme selected for the performance was kind of dark and pale. Most actors were wearing clothes that were mostly cold colores, which did not create a happy and friendly atmosphere in the play but instead, it helped set the most suitable mood for a dramatic play. Besides, each actor wore a costume that represented their character and helped the audience distinguish between the characters better. For example, Christopher's father wore heavy boots and denim jeans which helped the viewers understand that it was Ed, and this selection of clothes also helped create the correct image of the character. The carefully controlled lightning helped to identify the key character of each scene.
The most important characters - Christopher, Judy, Ed, and Shiovan - were easy to recognize due to their elements of clothing and also their positioning on the stage, as they were usually the ones the audience could see the most.
The directors' intention for this piece was to make it feel more realistic and in some way relatable to the viewers. However, the darkness of the play was also emphasized by the directors in order to make the performance more "extreme" and therefore more interesting and unusual.
The most memorable moment to me was when Christopher found the letters from his mother hidden in Ed's room. This is because the emotion he felt at that moment was very clear and it felt real due to Amelia's acting. It was a turning point in the play and I empathized with the main character the most in this exact scene due to extreme emotion.
The best actor in the play was Willjam Lemping who played Christopher's dad, Ed. He felt very natural and therefore believable. First of all, he looked older than other actors and his physical features like height made him more suitable for this role as well. Furthermore, his acting skills were remarkable. He used his voice effectively which helped him seem very emotional. An example of this was when Ed was telling his son to stop investigating the incident and he lost control over his emotions, yelling at Christopher. Also, his gestures were highly appropriate and felt quite realistic. Therefore, Willjam was my favorite actor in Friday's play.
In conclusion, I wouldn't say that I liked the performance, but it was not terrible either. I do not enjoy any kind of drama whether it is a play or a movie, but looking at the acting side of this play I can say that it was extremely good for a high school play. The audience seemed to enjoy it as I could hear gasps at tense moments and laughter when there was a joke. Finally, this play opened my eyes to how imperfect our world is, but no matter what we keep on going, hoping for a better future.
