Rancho Cucamonga High School debuted its first play of the 2023-2024 school year, “The Play That Goes Wrong” on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The play is about a group of actors, who have a history of less-than-great performances, that are able to put on a play of a lifetime. The only problem is, everything goes wrong!
“We all worked really hard in preparation for the performance. I was a bit nervous about the props when things fell down, but everything went well,” senior Tayran Abapo said.
She continued to explain how this is her third play in the RCHS drama program, the first play being “Clue,” and she can definitely tell of her improvement from then till now.
“I can really see the growth in myself and the growth in others,” Abapo said.
As soon as the play opens, you can hear the audience roar with applause as the actors enter the stage. Throughout the show, there are set pieces falling, props rolling all over the stage, people getting smacked, pulled, and knocked out. The whole time you can hear the audience laughing with amusement at all the funny antics.
“Opening night there is a lot of energy, and we will definitely bring more energy for future plays,” sophomore Gayle Mendoza, a member of the tech team said. She continued to explain how everyone involved in the production works long hours after school. They put a lot of work into making the production, and it was definitely worth it.
In preparation for the performance, the students in the production had to practice every day after school, Tuesday through Thursday from 3:30 to to 6:30 p.m. According to Mr. James Loudermilk, the RCHS theater teacher and show director, there were around 60 students working on this production which makes it one of the largest productions that the department has done.
“Since I’ve been here, this my third year at Rancho, and the program has been growing, and growing, and growing, and with that comes a level of expertise on the actors that is so heartwarming to see as a director because I put in the work to be there as a director and the l kids put in the work,” Loudermilk said.
He continued to explain that theater is a place that is supposed to be magical, and for students to build community and that’s what the department has done at Rancho. It’s a big group of artists, not just actors but also tech students. There’s so much that goes into putting on a show and leading up to a show so that what the audience sees in the final product is amazing.
“The students are well prepared and have been working hard for the last few years to be able to put on this production,” Loudermilk said. He continued to explain that because the program is getting bigger, we can look out for bigger productions in the upcoming year.
