Under the direction of Drama Teacher Belinda Brown, the ArtsTech Theatre Department presented its variety show The Dead End Tavern on October 29 through November 1 in the auditorium.
The Dead End Tavern set was that of Dead End Tavern, a Halloween-themed night spot that once held a fall cabaret, according to Brown. Like a traditional cabaret, audience members sat at tables on the stage and were served snacks and beverages by waiters while they were entertained by an eclectic and whimsical variety of acts. Performances ranged from spoken-word poetry and monologues to musical performances and dance routines.
According to Brown, as opposed to the Theatre Department’s typical annual fall play, in which actors reenact a story, The Dead End Tavern featured a diverse array of three to five-minute acts performed by student comedians, orators, dancers, musicians, actors and singers. Brown had previously directed cabaret performances before in 2006 and 2004. She brought The Dead End Tavern back due to popular demand.
Some of the largest performances were the musical act “Status Quo” with 15 participants, the Tahitian Dance team with eight participants, and the musical performance “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” with five participants.
Sophomores Jessica Bodnar and Natalie Tommasino both performed in the skit “Homecoming Interviews.” Tommasino thought the Cabaret was more “free” for performers than regular plays. “In a play, you spend a lot of time working on lines, but in the cabaret, you are much freer with what you get to do,” said Tommasino.
Bodnar and Tommasino were also involved in the musical performance “Status Quo” from High School Musical, a dance with fifteen participants. “What I like best about the Status Quo is all the singing and dancing and how we get to exaggerate our emotions,” Tommasino said.
Junior Casey Johnson was involved in a group song called “No Me Diga” from the musical In the Heights. “I like that there are a lot of challenging melodies,” Johnson said.
Rehearsals took place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. The set building took place on the weekends. The students mostly rehearsed on their own, according to Sophomore Amanda Hoffman. “Each act rehearsed with me once a week to polish things up,” Brown said.
Hoffman spent five days working on her scene. However, she liked the set work better than rehearsals. “I liked the set work better, because we’re working together to do one thing. You’re not really interacting with other people when you rehearse [individually],” Hoffman said.
Hoffman thought that the cabaret was simpler than other performances. According to her, the stage design was easier with only a stage and tables to worry about. The stage crew also did not have to put up as many decorations as they would have had to with a play.