BVHS students present "The Importance of Being Earnest In a Pandemic" - by Tara Flanagan

A year ago, if you’d asked Tanner Oharah what he’d think about directing a high school play online, with each actor tucked away in a separate space — with some of them in actual quarantine — he may not have had a ready answer.

Partial cast of “The Importance of Being Earnest In a Pandemic”: Hannah Volpe, Elena Dunn, Jordan Baxter, Sam Starr, Izzy Warholoski, Calvin Tattershall, Misty Burdges.

Buena Vista High School’s Trident Theatre is readying for Monday’s opening night of “The Importance of Being Earnest In a Pandemic: A Stay-at-Home Play.”

The online production (with most roles in two different casts) will air live Monday and Friday, Nov. 2 and 6, and then video recordings from each of the live shows will air at the Comanche Drive-In Nov. 8 and 9 — to include a red carpet meet-and-greet with the actors.

Oharah, who is the choir and drama teacher for the middle and high schools, says he’s not yet sure what they’re going to use for a red carpet, but hey — 2020 is the year of making things happen in highly unexpected circumstances.

He said the students, despite all the changes, have adapted to the circumstances and are “excited to have their art form in use and alive.” Oddly enough, their first rehearsal was slated for Sept. 22, when the high school closed for a day to address COVID-19 issues. Currently, a group of high school students is under quarantine, including some of the play’s cast.

The students began looking at scripts on the first day of school and chose Don Zolidis’s adaptation of the Oscar Wilde satire.

“Now Jack and Algernon must vie for the hands of their beloveds despite not only the strictures of polite society but also the obstacles of social distancing,” reads a write up in Playscripts.com. “One’s false identities are especially difficult to manage when one must remember to change one’s display name on video chat, and fearsome Lady Bracknell’s dinner invitations are an even more tedious prospect if small talk must be shouted from six feet away.”

As the students make the necessary maneuvers for an online production, the school is looking forward to when kids will be able to use the performance space in the new middle and high school.

Oharah says the versatile setup will have new lighting and sound and seating (with cushioned seats) that retracts into the wall. The multi-use space also functions as the lunch area, which means it also can host dinner theater.

Performances are at 7:00 p.m. with the red carpet events begin at 6:30 at the Comanche). For tickets, go to bvhsco.booktix.com. If you have any questions or would like to help support the BVHS choir and theatre departments, call 719-395-7076 or email tannero@bvschools.org.

CastOvid

Performing Nov. 2 on Booktix live and Nov. 8 at the Comanche Drive-in

John (Jack/Earnest) Worthing – Sam Starr

Algernon Moncrieff – Calvin Tattershall

Canon Chasuble – Jordan Baxter

Lane – Misty Burdges

Lady Bracknell – Lauryn Cunningham

Gwendolen Fairfax – Marlea Blonairz

Cecily Cardew – Juniper Crago

Miss Prism – Scarlet Kimbrel

CastOrona

Performing Nov. 6 on Booktix live and Nov. 9 at the Comanche Drive-in