Preparations are underway for Treasure Island, this year’s fall play at Lexington High School. Both actors and stage crew have been hard at work creating costumes, building set pieces, rehearsing fight choreography, and lighting the production to ensure a smooth final product.
Based on the original novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island tells the story of a young boy named Jim Hawkins who goes on an adventure with pirates in search of treasure. By the end of the play, he understands what really matters in life—an answer that isn’t just treasure.
Jillian Singer-Wong, the director of this play and a performing arts teacher at LHS, has been planning for it since the summer.
“I really love how theatrical this play is, so that means for me that it really uses the conventions of theater in terms of how it changes locations really quickly, and things like that. It has a lot of theater magic,” Singer-Wong said.
Some of these theatrical elements will include puppetry and stage combat. This year, a choreographer was brought in for the cast to learn the latter.
“I think this play has a lot of humor to it, which is really fun. And there’s also a lot of fight scenes, so we had a fight choreographer come in and that new kind of movement has been super cool,” Eliza Epstein, the actor for Jim Hawkins and a senior at LHS, said.
After the initial planning, a large number of students worked in different departments to contribute a piece to the whole. After the auditions, actors have been called in almost daily for rehearsals.
“I think it’s cool to put yourself in these different worlds and kind of bring your own character to the part as well. I feel like you learn something new about yourself every time you play a part,” Epstein said.
The tech crew has also been working hard on the set. With Tech Week coming up, the cast and crew have been holding more meetings with students in order to represent their voices and impact on the production.
“We’re including more of the kids into [the play], because we’re the ones doing the work. It’s good to have opinions from everywhere, so we’re using as many people as possible,” Ethan McDonnell, a carpenter on stage crew and a senior at LHS, said.
Though participating in the process can be time-consuming, Singer-Wong believes it can be incredibly rewarding.
“I think that confidence, [since] people have a chance to really explore their own unique creativity, ensemble work, and collaboration are other [traits] that are really brought out by being in a play,” Singer-Wong said.
