The fall play, the Turn of the Screw, had the audience on the edge of their seats and the special effects that were used were chilling. For the first time in years Skyline theatre took on the challenge of producing a horror play.

In the past few years the typical fall play has mostly been comedies or tragedies, which made a horror play especially intriguing to Skyline students.

The play leaves the audience with many unknowns leaving the exact outcomes up to the audiences’ own interpretation. These subtleties make it specifically important for the actors to portray the lines exactly how the director wanted.

A single change of how one line was said could change the entire meaning for the audience. The governess character faced this challenge a lot, since the plot of the play can prompt the audience to either perceive the main character as crazy because she made up the ghosts in the story or that the ghosts are real and the governess is innocent.

Director Hannah Fry was able to make this easier for the cast by creating an adaptation of the original script written by Henry James. Her adaptation was a feat of writing and necessary to create the play.

According to Sanjana Anand, the actress who played the governess, the adapted script made it a different kind of experience than previous plays,

“She [Hannah Fry] would give it to the actors, we would get a paper explaining what was happening and how our character was feeling according to the novel and then we’d go. We would improv and try multiple things for multiple scenes”

The adaptation of the script allowed the actors to have more freedom with their parts and adapt for how they wanted them to be portrayed.

The script and genre also made this play difficult since the actors had to put a lot of emotion into their acting and create a different kind of experience for the audience which could be draining

“A horror play takes a lot more energy and attention to what I’m doing. The running, the screaming, the shouting, I am so tired and I want to go home and sleep by the end,” Anand said.

The play relied heavily on the actors to portray the meaning behind the play but to make the emotions behind the actors’ actions impact the audience, the lighting and special effects had to be close to perfect.

The unique aspects of the special effects and the lighting altered the mood of the play to create a more intense feeling putting the audience on edge which is especially important for dramas and horror plays.

The special effects were a new aspect for the Skyline theatre. The special effects crew didn’t have experience from previous shows, which made it risky, so they had to be very particular with who was running the special effects and lighting.

“There’s a lot of special effects elements that kind of take a while to get it, so you have to practice those a lot,” Assistant Stage Manager Daniella Bengis said, “sometimes you need to switch the people so it’s a lot of thinking and going through.”

The dramatic acting and lighting created a lot of suspense and tension in the audience, which prompted a lot of reactions during the most intense scenes.

Reactions from the audience made those thrilling scenes favorites among the cast and crew. Some of the crew makes it a point to be near the stage during the scenes with the most reactions. Aubrey Meyer, Deck Crew Head said,

“Some people do like a good scare and although we don’t have like a lot of butts in seats, we’re getting really good reactions from the audience which is good and I always love hearing the audience reactions.”

The reactions from the audience may seem disruptive during an intense moment, but in a drama or horror play the actors have to be much more focused and won’t as easily break character.

“Since the play is already such a dark tone, it’s hard to get pulled out of that dark tone. If I’m on the verge of tears on stage and I hear someone make a silly remark or scream, I’m less likely to break character,” Anand said.

The comedies and musicals have always been a favorite for the theatre community, but the horror play this fall allowed for a growth experience for everyone in theatre.

The theatre program is always open to new members and there are so many ways to join the community. There are plenty of auditions for the plays or there is a form to fill out to join crew where you list the top crews you’d like to join.

At the black box they have plenty of information on how to audition or join crew, or you can email thespian president Sanjana Anand at [email protected] with any other questions or to discuss your interest.