On November 9th, 15th and 16th, The Gainesville High School after school theatre program put on their fall production of Radium Girls by D.W. Gregory.
After about three months in the making, Radium Girls had a successful opening night, featuring an audience full of student CAPPIES Critics, who then went on to give the show over thirty glowing reviews.
The cast and crew worked exceptionally hard on this fall production and were pleased with the outcome of the five shows that took place over two weekends.
11th grader Alexis Cottrell played Grace Fryer, the leading lady who faced the nightmare that was the aftermath of working for the US Radium Corporation. Cottrell has starred in every show since her freshman year at GHS, but has only played comedic roles; playing Grace was a large step, but according to her, it was a step in the right direction.
“My final monologue was my favorite; it really built up an emotional tension,” Cottrell said. “It’s the most emotional monologue I’ve ever done.”
Cottrell also stated that this role was the most challenging that she’s ever had, mostly because of how unfamiliar she was with the type of character. Cottrell is glad she was placed into this role, as it improved her acting experience.
“I definitely feel more connected to dramatic scenes. I feel like I’ve been so good at comedy for so long because that’s all I’ve ever been placed in,” Cottrell said. “I think these roles make me search for the deeper meanings in characters and their deeper motivations for what they do and say.”
11th Grader Piper Sahlberg is head of sound tech for the GHS theatre program, and was very happy with how successful the show was.
“I really enjoy the process of seeing everything come together for the first time,” Sahlberg said.
However, it wasn’t all easy for the tech crew. They faced many challenges that affected the rehearsal and pre-show processes.
“My biggest challenge was communication with some of the actors,” Sahlberg said. “A lot of people have different personalities and because my role is fairly social and I have to communicate with almost everybody, cast and crew alike, I have to find that fine balance.”
Although faced with many challenges, the cast and crew deemed opening night successful, having all their hard work pay off as they heard the audience cheer after the final scene.
Cottrell said “It was so much fun being on the verge of tears every night.”
