Rancho Cucamonga High School’s new production, “The Play That Goes Wrong” debuts on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. This show is very unlike previous shows, in this year’s play the student actors will perform as two characters in one.

“It’s different in the sense that this is such a highly choreographed show because everything is going wrong. It is actually planned for us, so it looks like it is going wrong to the audience, but it is exactly precisely planned,” Mr. James Loudermilk, theater teacher and director, said.

“The Play That Goes Wrong” is about a theater group called The Cornley Polytechnic Society that gets the chance to put on a production after a history of terrible performances. However, with the new budget for the performance, everything just happens to go wrong!

According to Loudermilk, this production presents some new features for RCHS drama including the use of new accents, spitting, and a splash zone.

Loudermilk explained that he is very excited to work with this group of theater students and how the program is continuing to grow each year. The theater department’s growth allows Rancho to put on bigger and more elaborate plays and musicals. He said he’s very proud of his students and their progression and thinks they can handle a bigger challenge. In that respect, he said that the audience should expect to see some bigger shows next year.

“Since I’ve been here, the program has been growing and growing, and with that comes a level of expertise on the levels of the actors that is so heartwarming to see as a director,” Loudermilk said.

According to Loudermilk, for the past two years, the theater department has received more donations, which allows the program to rent sets instead of building them from scratch. This allows the production, its participants, and the audience to have a more professional experience.

Senior Tayran Abapo who plays the lead Sandra/Florence explained her excitement for the play as it is her last play in her high school career

“The play is going great. Behind the scenes, we are working very hard and we are practicing every day after school,” Abapo said.

Loudermilk conducts all his classes with the expectation of professionalism. Whether it is his technical theater class or intro to drama he makes all of his students feel and act as if they are in a real theater troupe and expects the most out of all his students, actor or technical department.