The Woodland Drama Club has been dormant for two years until the introduction of The One Act Play That Goes Wrong.
The play was directed by Thomas Simonetti, the new woodland Drama Club teacher. The story was regarding an ironic series of events causing the play to go wrong. This is a breath of fresh air for The Woodland Drama Club. They were limited to only online events for the past two years, with the last year’s radio play being Arsenic and Old Lace.
“I will say that I saw things shut down on that fateful March day like Broadway and my friends being out of work,” said Simonetti.
Theater and the world at large have been affected dramatically by the wave of COVID in 2020. Most theaters being indoor cramped places housing hundreds of people it was often thought that this would be a breeding ground of viruses. The shadows of those faithful weeks and months are still causing issues to actors and directors to this day.
“Well, COVID is affecting us obviously in a way where there are masks,” said Connor Doughney, former actor of The One Act Play That Goes Wrong . “I mean, we actually have to play with these clear masks that go up my chin. Because they let the audience see our faces, because technically, we can’t, we still have to wear a mask during the play.”
But there is a silver lining: Woodland still had a show and from what this reporter has watched, there are a lot of expectations for these actors. Simmonete thought that a comedy was just what the world and Woodland needed after two existing years of a pandemic.
“I think that we need it after two years. We need some fun on stage.” Said Simmonetti, “You look at the movies from the 1930s there was always something fun to it, right? They had gone through something during the war and after the 1940s.”
As spring is quickly approaching, there is a lot to expect in upcoming months, this also applies to the Drama Club here at Woodland as they will be producing a musical.
Thomas Simonetti has confirmed the musical Emma will be performed and auditions will start Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
Even more good news is that Woodland students and audience members could hopefully see the play without the need for a mask. Also, actors can finally perform without the assistance of the mask. Hopefully theater in Woodland and theater at large can finally return back to a state of normalcy.
