The theater department will perform its first show of the school year, “Clue,” in the black box theater Oct. 12 at 7:00 p.m. and Oct. 14 at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.
“Everyone has to be on the ball because it is such a well-known story,” senior Max Turman, who plays Wadsworth, said. “We have to play off of each other, get those cues [and] keep it rolling. As we’ve done more runs, though, and gotten more comfortable with each other, it’s become way easier.”
The comedy, originally written as a musical in 1993 and based off of the 1949 board game of the same name, follows an array of characters who arrive at a dinner party under mysterious circumstances and have to find the murderer among themselves.
“I hope this show gives a new life to Hebron Theatre,” senior and stage manager Olivia Vaughan said. “I hope [that] when the audience sees our focus and how passionate we are, they’ll realize how powerful and real theater can be.”
This will be the first show in the black box theater, which was a part of the LISD bond package in 2017 and began construction in 2021. It can seat 113 people at a time, which head director Chelsey Thornburg said makes her nervous as they estimate 100 people each night. Because of this, ticket sales opened on Oct. 11 in the cafeteria; they cost $5 for students and faculty and $10 for general admission.
“Black box theater is my favorite form of theater,” Thornburg said. “It’s what I grew up on. It can be scary because there’s no separation that comes from being on stage 30 feet away [from the audience.] That safety void is taken away; [the actors] are going to see faces and [they’re] going to know exactly how the audience is reacting — good or bad.”
Because the audience will be much closer, Thornburg said many technicians had to smooth out finer details within costumes and sets, along with preparing more technical elements than previous shows. “Clue” has close to 200 light cues, over quadruple the amount of last year’s fall show “Wings” which had approximately 40. The show will also feature live piano music.
“Our goal is to push and drive our students, whether they’re actors or technicians,” Thornburg said. “We want them to get a vision and create it, to get to that level of theater. We want it to be more than what Hebron [students] have come to expect of Hebron Theatre.”
Within the last year, the theater department hired two new teachers and promoted Thornburg to head director from her previous role as assistant. Vaughan, who has been taught by Thornburg since middle school, said she feels the department is in good hands.
“[Thornburg] has always been our support system,” Vaughan said. “We went to her every time the directors changed, and it’s been an adjustment to know that she’s the head director now, but we’ve carried over that level of comfort. She’s reminding me that theater is art, and I’m relearning how to find the joy in it all.”
As this will be his last first show of high school, and his first show as lead, Turman said he knows he will cry before the first performance.
“It’s very bittersweet,” Turman said. “Hebron Theatre has given me a lot over the years, and I’d like to think I’ve given it a lot too. It’s the beginning of the end, and that pains me, but I think I’m ready.”
