![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Drawing away the curtains: Upper school performing arts prepares upcoming fall play
Director Jeffrey Draper explains the layout of a scene to the cast during rehearsals. The play is five acts long and has a run time of about two hours.
October 12, 2017
While the cast of the Fall Play will perform “The Comedy of Errors” from Oct. 26 to 28, the performing arts department began preparations for the production as early as a year in advance.
Director of the play and theater teacher Jeffrey Draper started brainstorming themes and ideas last year, and the cast put in hours of work and commitment in rehearsals beginning early September.
For this year’s “The Comedy of Errors,” Draper and the cast hope to highlight the entertaining nature of the play, which features twin brothers separated at birth who are determined to reconcile while living in different cities.
The rehearsal process began after auditions with rehearsals five days a week, starting with table readings and eventually staging actors in their respective positions.
“[Rehearsals have been] creative [and] self-drive because [Mr. Draper] doesn’t actually tell us what to do, but he just lets us figure out what we want to do in the play,” Katelyn Chen (10), who plays Second Merchant, said.
The cast has also been working on creative elements of the play, including further defining character roles and interactions within specific moments.
“After blocking, we work the scenes and actors put their scripts down and memorize their lines. [We] just make the moments tighter and funnier,” Draper said. “Then, we run the show a bunch for the last two weeks, so everyone’s really comfortable with everything. All the props and costumes start arriving, and we just put all the pieces together.”
Rehearsals prove to be crucial, since the cast works with their lines while embodying their characters’ personalities during rehearsals.
“I think discovering actions in a scene really make it more interesting because when you just get the script, it’s not a play yet, it’s just a script,” Maxwell Woehrmann (12), who plays Antipholus of Syracuse, said. “In rehesarsal, when we’re having it slowly come together as a play, we’re getting really good moments out of scenes.”
The Harker community can watch the cast of “The Comedy of Errors” perform three shows at the Blackford theater from Oct. 26 to 28.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on October 12, 2017.
