Q&A with Jeffrey Draper

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Kshithija Mulam

Medha Shah (11) appiles makeup to counteract the harsh lighting on stage. The main cast performed "The Laramie Project" on Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 while the swing cast performed on Nov. 2.

Aquila: How did you feel about the cast’s first performance on Thursday? 

Jeffrey Draper: I was thoroughly impressed. I had the students each mention one of their goals tonight for what they plan to do when they perform. They are so thoughtful and smart about the way they make their choices about the things they want to do and they are truly creative artists. They express it. They have really good high goals for themselves. They make me proud with what they are intending to do and how they do it.

AQ: What do you think the audience will like most about the show?

JD: It depends on what they are here for. They’re going to see some great acting, and I am hearing that it is impressive. The Blue Sonnet last night had really positive things to say about what the students were doing as performers. It’s a very moving story. It’s very entertaining the way it is written. It has some humor in it, but it’s meant to touch people. We had people crying last night in a good way. I am hoping that they are moved. We will see.

AQ: What’s different about this show and why isn’t there anyone backstage?

JD: We don’t need it because the cast has very little set moving, and the cast can do it on there own. No black outs. When people come out dressed in black and do a set change, I just have the cast do it as they enter or exit. It saves time and makes the show move better. It would have been superfluous to have them anyway.

AQ: What went into choosing the background music for the play?

JD: I pulled music from one particular composer. He’s very good. He did the new Spielberg movie that’s out, and a bunch of soundtracks from other movies. They just automatically tie into the show. Everything that went into this that is creative is Mattie’s lightings. We did one cool thing this year where she put in a lot of programmed lights. LED’S along the back to create the last image. The last words of the play are ‘The twinkling lights of Laramie, Wyoming’, and you can actually see the lights. It’s really beautiful.