AHS is said to make precise mistakes on stage in “The Play That Goes Wrong.”

By Brandon LaChance, Editor

AMBOY – What could go wrong?

The Amboy High School drama department has the answer, everything, in its fall play, “The Play That Goes Wrong,” coming to the stage Friday, November 1, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, November 2, at 2 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Amboy High School auditorium.

“The whole point of the play is that we are actors performing a play. The whole idea is that everything is going wrong,” said sophomore Jay Lauzon. “That’s what I like about it, because it’s different than a normal piece. Normally you want everything to go perfectly, but we are literally intent on screwing it up. I think that makes it more fascinating than any of our previous productions. There are still a few things we need to get right, but if you mess up, trip, or drop something, as long as it’s not particularly important, it just fits the show.

“I feel like our theater department is full of people who generally all relate to each other. Everyone is nice and warm. We get along and have fun. Nobody is really judgmental; Everyone accepts it. Working with Mr. Kerley and Ms. Cleary is fun. They’re just great people.”

Lauzon, who starred in last year’s play “I Only Have Fangs for You” and has been involved in four productions, whether on stage or as part of the team behind the scenes, will play Rachel, an actress who plays the character Mary Colleymore embodied.

The fictional actors and actresses, like Rachel, are part of the Cornley Drama Society, which is performing a play called The Murder at Haversham Manor.

The Amboy cast has been practicing taking the stage as other actors for a play since Tuesday, September 3rd.

“The student artists did a great job. They are really open to suggestions and try harder. This group is coachable,” said Co-Play Director and AHS art teacher Deb Cleary. “Avery Kerley and I chose the piece together, but he showed it to me. When he suggested it, I looked for the high school edition. I found it and we decided that was the piece we wanted to do.”

Cleary, who has been a high school art teacher for 28 years, also taught middle school art for several years. Kerley, a music teacher who has been at Amboy Junior High School for seven years, sat next to Clearly in the classroom.

They began exchanging ideas during their time as neighbors and have since produced five plays together, while Cleary has directed ten plays for AHS.

“This is one of the most technically difficult plays we have ever attempted,” Kerley said. “In terms of lines and There have been some difficult ones with the scripts, but the really difficult thing about this one is that they have to know their lines very early on so we can practice all the mistakes and make them consistent. In the second act the stage itself collapses. It falls apart on stage. We talked for over a year about how we would design the set pieces and how we would put things together. We use a lot of fishing lines and magnets.

“It is very technically demanding because our ensemble members not only act as the Cornley Drama Society’s stage team, but are also the ones who trigger the stage effects by pulling pins, cutting fishing lines and pushing magnets out of the theater.”

Because all the cast and crew knew that timing was crucial, they nailed their lines early so they could focus on making sure the stage collapsed, the lines were spoken incorrectly, and the props were used incorrectly – correctly.

“This is so much fun. I love going to practice,” said AHS freshman Abigail Fox, who plays Chris, the fictional play’s director who stars as Inspector Carter. “It’s fun to talk to everyone involved. We help each other. I’m proud of myself for playing a lead role as a freshman. I’m excited to play a lead role and am grateful for the opportunity. I’m a little nervous because it’s nerve-wracking, but I think we’ll all do a great job.

“This piece is really fun. It has a really big plot twist and is exciting.”

The piece also stars AHS’ Natalie Pratt, Kai Vaupel-Taylor, Cooper Whitney, Logan Ketchum, Aaron Costner, Brooklyn Strub, Carli Grennan, Jayce Hermeyer, Charlotte Patterson, Vee Shepard and TinlHey Whitney.