One Act starts rehearsals
The One Act has a history of success. The cast has won two first place titles at the state level in the last two years. Senior lead Jaymie Inouye and junior Eleanor Alger were selected as members of the cast.
Senior Jaymie Inouye (left) reads lines during a One Act rehearsal. Inouye has been a member of the One Act cast for all four of her years
The HHS One Act cast will be performing the show “The Insanity of Mary Girard” this year, after “Beggar’s Opera”, last year’s show, won the state competition.
Mary, the lead role, will be portrayed by senior Jaymie Inouye, who has also acted in Elephant’s Graveyard, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Pieces, Oklahoma, Beggar’s Opera and Seussical here at HHS. Eleanor Alger, Ayam Ali, Julia Inouye, Olivia Kasidiaris, Josh Lucas, and Parker Rising will be playing supporting roles, The Furies.
The time is 1790. Mary Girard, a 16 year old peasant girl married Stephen Girard, the richest man in the country, to help him continue his line.
“…he was really cold to her and they found out they couldn’t have children, and it was actually his fault, because he was sterile, but he blamed her and was really rude to her and he had all these mistresses come to his house and kind of shunned her and so she tried to find comfort in the company of other men and she ends up getting pregnant,” said Inouye.
Stephen Girard discovers Mary’s pregnancy and, wanting nothing to do with her, throws her in an insane asylum despite her sanity.
“[In the asylum] she is haunted by the furies that are kind of figments of her imagination that are there to torment her and she is very confused and she doesn’t understand why this is all happening to her,” Inouye said. Inouye anticipates the difficulty of getting into character.
“It’s going to be a really difficult show. It’s really heavy and my character has to go through, she’s a very complicated character and she has lots of changes in how she feels and what’s her mentality, like is she going crazy or is she going to try and hold onto her sanity, so I’m excited for the challenge of kind of creating someone who is interesting and people can feel for,” said Inouye.
The Furies will represent what is going on in Mary Girard’s head. Junior Eleanor Alger will be playing the head Fury.
“I play one of The Furies. I’m the head Fury, and we are like the personification of the thoughts that are going on in Mary’s head, so as she like slowly spirals on into insanity, we represent that through like physical movement and we also kind of like narrate the story,” Alger said. She is excited for the challenge of the role.
“Because I’m not really playing a person, I’m playing like Mary’s thoughts, that is definitely I know going to be a little bit of a challenge, like getting into the characterization of that, but it is something I know I will grow into and will be really fun once we’re at a performance level,” Alger said. Actors are struggling with getting into character during these first few rehearsals.
“It’s hard often in the beginning of the rehearsal process to be able to completely invest yourself in a character, simply because you have the obstacle of the script in front of you and that you haven’t memorized your lines so usually that’s the hardest part for me and right now, especially since the show is really dialogue heavy, you know, people have to stop and kind of follow along with the lines rather than just be able to react, but once we have the lines and the script out of the way, usually it’s more smooth sailing,” Inouye said.
Alger is adjusting to the script as well.
“[The hardest part is] getting a feel for the script, I mean, this script especially. It’s not written in like modernized English, so we have to get used to like the style of the speech…,” Alger said.
Swartz provides insight on the director’s perspective as rehearsals begin. Stanley Swartz has been directing the one-act for 28 years now. Despite his experience, he too still deals with the challenges.
It’s amazing. There’s nothing so satisfying as putting on a show and being and knowing that you put all you could into it.
— Senior Jaymie Inouye
“One of the hardest things to do with rehearsals at the beginning is getting the kids to start to understand my vision and what they’re working towards, because they just have, at the very beginning, they usually have not even read the play yet. They may not understand why I have cast them in the particular role that I’ve cast them at because they don’t know, you know, what I have in my head, so getting them on board and all going together towards the same goal and same vision is a big part of what I have to do,” Swartz said.
Inouye most enjoys the bond between the cast.
“I really like everyone, all of the community aspect of it. Everyone that does it is really dedicated to it and really tries to make the shows the best that they can be which is really important to me. I love that the city and the school district in general is really supportive of the arts so that we actually can put on productions that people have put a lot of effort into and I mean, Mr. Swartz is one of the most amazing directors in the world, so working with him is like a blessing,” Inouye said. Inouye loves the Musical and the One Act equally, but sees specific advantages in the One Act.
When I’m performing, it just really makes me feel, I’m at my happiest when I’m performing.
— Junior Eleanor Alger
“The one act is nice, you get kind of more personal training because it’s a smaller cast and it’s usually more, I mean, it’s all acting. You really have to focus on acting and your ensemble work,” Inouye said. Both Alger and Inouye have fallen in love with performing.
“When I’m performing, it just really makes me feel, I’m at my happiest when I’m performing. It just, I definitely like feel like…most alive, like the most whole of a person when I’m doing that,” said Alger.
Inouye also feels a sense of fulfillment after finishing a production.
“It’s amazing. There’s nothing so satisfying as putting on a show and being and knowing that you put all you could into it…I come out of every show that I do growing in my skill level and ability like, that much more because I’ve learned new things and I’ve grown by the different aspects of the different shows so it’s almost like, once you finish, it’s a euphoric sort of feeling. It’s unlike any other feeling in the world…it’s one of the things I love to do most,” Inouye said.
The One Act will be performed free of charge to the public on Oct. 15, 2015.
