Soft and smoky music filled the room as a darkened stage yawned before the audience. The room was then plunged into darkness before being bathed in an eery blue light, as a clothing rack is carried on.
A hint of mystery lingers in the air, helping to build the suspense as actors in vintage 40s clothing begin to spin a tale of a failing theatre and the ghosts that haunt it.
“Murder Box,” the competition one act chosen by Chandler High School this year, was a bold choice, yet one that makes sense from a troupe that is constantly experimenting and challenging itself. Last year, they performed a dystopian play where music was outlawed. The year before was a comedy on how to best survive a Shakespeare tragedy.
“What I really liked about it was, I liked the twists. I was able to anticipate some, but I was still greatly pleased by the ending, so I thought that would just be fun to perform for others,” said senior Zeke Hicks.
Junior Reagan Moehle said it made her laugh the first time she read it. While the one act does have comedic moments, it falls heavily in murder mystery territory with plenty of twists and turns.
The play is based on a 1940s film noir and is about an acting company that’s moving out of their theatre and onto new and better things, said senior Hannah Davis. Drama Teacher Inda Jo Conway said the students did plenty of research, wanting to stage something reminiscent of “The Maltese Falcon,” “Casablanca,” and “Dial M for Murder.”
“The physicality was something that I knew that we might struggle with and just... We debated about adding the transatlantic accent, and we chose not to. But the research for the physicality and the vocality was still there,” Conway said. “Most of them did a lot of research on their own, watching some old black-and-white movies.”
The research paid off, with the troupe receiving its third Superior rating in a row at the Oklahoma Thespians One Act Festival on Sept. 26. Hannah Davis and Colton Miller were selected as All State Cast, while Cade Cowden and Maddie Herring were chosen as All State Tech Crew. Chandler competed for Chapter Select, which comes with its own set of rules, though its something Conway prefers.
She said it evens the playing field with all par- participating schools having to use the same unit set and anything else has to be brought on stage (and taken off again) by an actor. “Murder Box,” thankfully fit the bill as the setting is essentially a bare stage.
The show wasn’t without its challenges. Conway said they had a lot of turnover for one reason or another, whether it was injuries, illness or conflicts with other events or organizations. However, it opened the show up to a lot more creativity.
“To hear one actor deliver lines and then have to replace that actor and have another entirely different actor say the exact same lines,” she said. “As an actor, just their own, you know, being that they… they come from a different background, their interpretation is going to be different, you know?”
Sophomore Julia Gardner and junior Trinidy Yang said seeing the different portrayals and performances were some of the things they loved most.
“I think the characters’ personalities, how they were written in the script and then seeing how people, like, decided to interpret that. ‘Cause there could be a line that could be said so many different ways, but I just think that’s neat,” Gardner said.
Her on-stage partner Isaac Myerssaidhemostenjoythat he and Gardner got to bother Davis throughout the show, something Conway said bled out of rehearsals just a bit.
Another challenge, according to Moehle, was adapting to the time period.
“We act very different than we do now,” she said.
Hicks added that he had to work to find out what was best for his character.
“This play, unlike others, I had a very specific image of what I wanted, and, like, very quickly it was wrong,” he said.
The troupe has one more chance to shine on stage in “Murder Box.” It’ll be competing at the OSSAA One Act Regionals on Oct. 13 at Leedy High School.