THIS YEAR’S spring play brought monsters to life on stage, telling the story of Agnes Evans, played by Tayva Cope (12), as she navigates her grief over her sister’s death by playing an old game of D&D that her sister, Tilly Evans, played by Issac Tallaman (12), wrote.

The adventures weren’t just on stage or backstage; this may have been one of the hardest Plays to bring to life, with a mesmerizing set that captured a midwestern ‘90s vibe featuring a grungy basement, D&D-themed platforms, and an old-style gap all stationary throughout the play.

Furthermore, with the addition of multiple monsters, including a giant, gelatinous cube, a giant eye with tentacles named the beholder, and a five-headed, life-size dragon, the stage crew had their work cut out for them. Countless hours spent cutting out scales for the dragon’s body, even more hours shaping the heads out of foam, and more than enough cuts and burns left everyone exhausted at the end of the day.

A possibly even more captivating part of this process was the costumes. Constant, quick costume changes used to differentiate the real and fantasy worlds of this play brought chaos behind the scenes. People tripping over themselves and others while rushing to change, all while others were bringing on and off set pieces and props, was not ideal.

The head of the costumes department, Jana Hopper (10), says this show took a toll on everyone’s physical and mental health. “I learned a lot about myself during this process, and I don’t take that part for granted at all.” She and the costume crew were fantastic at creating a wide variety of costumes for the stage, ranging from a ‘90s theme to its opposing fantasy theme. These costumes would never have been possible without the help of Mario and Meg Palmer, parent volunteers who created almost all of the armor worn by the lead actors. None of the stage crew had any knowledge of how to accomplish the feat of armor and chain mail. With it being such a crucial part of this play, it was a miracle the palmers were able to do for us.

Many of the concepts they originally had for this play became tantalizing, but many never came to pass. The gummy heart used in a scene where one of the actors has his heart ripped out was initially meant to be jello and more anatomically accurate. But as they got deeper into rehearsals, they found it was too messy, and there was no way for them to clean it up between scenes.

The platforms on set were supposed to have much more detail, with moss, stones, and greenery adorning the sides, but they got too busy, and before they knew it, opening night arrived, and there was no time to get it done.

The soundtrack for this show was the essential ‘90s soundtrack, but many songs that the audience never got to hear were missing.  Many other possibilities for the stage never made it, but what did make it was truly a marvel. Even if this show was possibly one of the hardest the stage manager ever worked, the outcome made it so worth it.