The weather is warming and so are the stage lights. Postmortem, written by Ken Ludwig and directed by guest director Nancy Saunders, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by William Shakespeare and directed by English teacher Laurie Nebeker, will take over Eden Prairie High School’s Performing Arts Center and Auditorium.
EPHS is one of the few schools in the state that runs seven productions a year. There is one musical, one one-act, two student-run/ directed shows, and 3 plays (winter and spring). This year, the spring shows are William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ken Ludwig’s Postmortem.
Even if you’re not a Shakespeare connoisseur, Nebeker briefly explains the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “I would say that the story is easily understandable. It is comedic and romantic, and our performance is going to emphasize engaging the audience with comedy, romance, and magic. That should help people overcome any language concerns they have.”
The stage manager of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lily Lawinger, says, “I’m most looking forward to adding all the set design to the blocking, and with the costumes, lights, and sound, it’s gonna be really pretty.” This play will be whimsical, romantic, and dreamy. All aspects of the Theater Department will be put to use when designing and producing it.
Postmortem is exactly how it sounds: it’s about death. Stage manager Siri Holt elaborates, “It is very dramatic, funny. There is a huge plot twist you will not see coming, and it keeps you on your toes. There is not a single moment of boredom.” Lawinger and Holt, both seniors, have the hard task of Stage Managing these shows. Holt explains more about the process of stage management, “To get the show started, as Stage Manager, I organize what the actors are doing, when they are going to be here, what their hours are, when they are available, when they are not, and also giving them a comfortable space so that they know they can always come to me and I can always go to them if there needs to be a conversation of any sort.” However, it’s not just Lawinger and Holt who have stage man- aging experience. During college, Nebeker took part in American Players Theater internship as stage manager in Springer, Wisconsin. That summer, one show the company was putting on was A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She recalls her experience there, “Most of the time I was backstage, but I remember just toward the end of the season I was leaving early because I had to go back to school. I had one night that I could just sit out and watch a show and this was the one that I wanted to watch.” But the serendipitous moments don’t just end there. Jay Asfeld, the Technical Director for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, shares what some of his college finals looked like as a theater major, and what show he used for them, “For my lighting design final, my costuming design final, and some set build for the show itself, I based everything off A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The enthusiasm doesn’t end there. Asfeld says, “I’m excited to see how the students do with the script because it’s a hilarious script and I know they will recreate it in a fun way.”
Even though Postmortem is a murder- ous drama, it is also a comedy as well. Since the actors are already prepping for the performanc- es, Holt has already seen the show all the way through. She comments on her favorite part, “The plot twist, definitely. Yeah, I think there are a lot of interesting parts of the show that we’re doing set-wise and character-wise. I’m excited to see the actors and all the people building the set. No matter what is happening in the script, the vibe on stage is always exciting and fun.”
Exciting and fun are the perfect words to describe both shows. As we gear up for the end of the year, take a moment to relax and laugh during EPHS’ two spring plays. Tickets will be available closer to the show dates, but in the meantime, behind-the-scenes pictures will be posted on the Drama Club Instagram @ drama_ephs.
