When students think of museums, the first things that come to mind are boring exhibits and old monotonous guides. But Broken Box proves the opposite with its latest play “Museum.” The show began last night and will continue through Sunday. It will be their last production of the year.
The play is characterized by its scattered, spontaneous nature and apparently limited plot in order to give the show a naturally witty and humorous appeal. Accordingly, the show will be the shortest and most fast-paced Broken Box production of the year.
“Viewers are going to experience watching a museum with a certain exhibit and crazy, different people looking at the artwork,” sophomore Alex Cala said. “There’ll be classy women, old couples, art freaks and awkward, shy people.”
According to Drama teacher Nancy Moran, the show will be amusing with humor playable to all audiences.
“The story takes place on the third floor of a museum and about 40 different characters come through the floor and comment on the artwork and interact with each other,” Moran said. “Our hope is that people will laugh a lot and see this performance as if they were experiencing the art exhibits themselves.”
In order to do so, Moran hopes that right before the show begins, audience members will be allowed on stage to get a better look at all the artwork.
All Broken Box actors are eagerly preparing for their diverse roles in the show.
“During class, we practice lines and try to really establish a character, because that’s the hardest thing,” senior Cameron Kashani said. “It’s up to us to best interpret how a character should be portrayed and how that character reacts in certain situations because that kind of improvisation allows us to really get into our roles.”
What also distinguishes this play from previous shows is that in “Museum,” there will be no lead actors or actresses.
“There’s no main character in the show; everyone has a relatively equal role,” Alex said. “But it works because all these different characters will be mixing it up and talking about the artwork and how they act toward one another makes the show extremely funny.”
For many seniors though, the performance will not only be a comical one, but also one of their last as a member of Broken Box.
“It’s always hard,” Moran said. “I have 15 seniors this year, but I do think that this is a good show to end on because it’s upbeat and it’s something different that not many high schools have done before.”
As one of these 15 seniors, Cameron acknowledges the weight of leaving.
“It’s crazy,” Cameron said. “It’s sad, but at the same time really important. I don’t think the magnitude of leaving has really hit me yet.”
All Broken Box members will continue to work on perfecting the play until show time. Extra practice and rehearsals were scheduled during STAR testing week to ensure that the production goes smoothly.
Members of Broken Box encourage all to see the show.
“Each person in the audience should be able to relate to at least one of the characters,” Cameron said. “It’ll let everyone be able to laugh at themselves.”