Stagecraft and staff prepare for Into the Woods
Bluedevilhub.com Editor-in-Chief–
The Stagecraft class has been busily preparing for the upcoming Davis High Drama Department’s fall musical, “Into the Woods,” which begins on Nov. 7. This year, senior Eden Tomich, who took stagecraft two years ago, is the student set designer, and she has started planning for this play since last school year.
“I have had a very great, stimulating and challenging time working on this project. Kathy and Gwen asked me to design for this show last year after I worked on the fall musical, Pippin, as the scenic artist,” Tomich said.
Tomich met with Stagecraft teacher Kathy Peter and head of the Drama Department Gwen Bruch several times over the summer to discuss her sketches and ideas for the set.
“One of the challenges Eden has had is how to create that feeling of being able to be lost in the woods, but not create a lot of chaos on stage at the same time,” Peter said.
Tomich mentioned that “lights will play a key role in achieving [the] effect [of movement] and smoothing transitions.”
“A number of set pieces also move in and out on wheels or are ’flown’, which means they are attached to our rigging system in the Brunelle [theatre] and can be lowered in and out from the ceiling. Finally, sets of flowing vines are also attached to the rigging system and can be lowered and raised to different heights to create the feeling of different spaces,” Tomich said.
Tomich found the whole experience of set designing enjoyable and valuable to her future. Similarly, Junior Mikaela Manzano has had a positive first impression of stagecraft.
“It’s been really fun; I have had a great time working with power tools. It kind of makes my day,” Manzano said.
Senior William Forkin also believes that constructing props benefits the student’s education.
“The hands-on approach of this class is very effective. We don’t have to spend a lot of time having things explained to us. It definitely makes you feel in control of your education which is nice,” Forkin said.
Forkin looks forward to completing all the props because “seeing it all come together is definitely going to be satisfying.”
“I hope Into the Woods will be as magical an experience to watch as it was to help create,” Tomich said.
Pit Orchestra: Katherine Winder
By Kacey Hsu,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–
Junior Katherine Winder, a violist for the DHS Baroque Ensemble, and is participating in one of DHS’s musical productions for the first time this fall.
Winder is a second-year violist of the DHS Baroque Ensemble. She has consistently played the viola since fourth grade, once it was offered in school. “I wanted to play an instrument besides piano, which I later quit. It has impacted my life because it’s the only extracurricular activity I do,” she said.
When the pit orchestra was looking for a violist, Winder decided to volunteer her time and take part in the group.“I wanted to branch out and play different music because in Baroque, we play a completely different style,” Winder said.
She is using the opportunity to experience not only to play different styles of music, but also to experience playing with other musicians. “So far, the rehearsals are going well with more people joining every week, so it’s starting to sound better every time,” Winder said.
Winder has noticed how different the music sounds when playing as an individual to playing together as a group. “I’ve also never played with woodwind instruments before, like people in the Symphony would, so it’s new and different,” she said.
After attending a few rehearsals, Winder has come to appreciate being able to collaborate with other student musicians.She looks forward to seeing how the music words with the acting, as this is the first time she will be performing with a cast for a musical.
“I’m excited to see how the whole thing comes together,” she said.
Production Team: Costumer Elizabeth Rutherford
Grace Richey,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–
Although she is a newcomer to the world of sewing, Elizabeth Rutherford has taken on the task of becoming the student costumer for the “Into the Woods.”
While she works in partnership with costume mistress Mary Hickman, the junior devotes much of her free time to create one of the show’s most complicated pieces, the Wolf.
Cole Williams, who plays the Wolf, will be decked in a gray, woolly vest, gloves, boots and hood.
“It can get a little messy with the hair getting everywhere, but I just use a heavy duty needle when sewing with the machine and it works fine,” she said.
Over the last year, Rutherford worked to developed her costume-making skills by creating a cosplay outfit for a character in the video game The Legend of Zelda. The complex project called for Rutherford to create her own customized gown, wig and accessories.
“I had to even make some of the pieces so i made them out of molding clay, and then I painted pieces of wood with an airbrush. I sewed some of the [smaller] pieces that I later glued on,” she said. “It had a lot of components, but it overall turned out really good.”
Despite the complexity of her jobs, Rutherford still enjoys her role on the production team as a costumer.
“Even [if it is] something simple, I still like to do it. But when it’s something challenging, I can still come up with new ways to solve the problems [like those] of this wolf costume,” she said.
Since she learned to sew at “around 7 or 8 years old,” Rutherford has grown to enjoy her talent, despite claiming that she “was never very good until recently.” With the help of her mother and grandmother, she was able to practice and develop her skill. “I’ve discovered that it’s something that I’m naturally good at and l like to do it.”
