Young actors rise to the challenges
‘Crush,' Atholton's extraterrestrial twist on teen angst,
is part of an ambitious county high school drama schedule
There is an alien among the teenagers at Pin Cushion High, and it does not have good intentions.
For its fall production, Atholton High School's drama club is presenting “Crush” by Stephen Gregg, a play about a high school student navigating the typical ups and downs of a teenager — with the added stress of being the only person who can see the alien among his peers.
The show, playing through Nov. 12, is part of an ambitious theater season in Howard County high schools that will include “A Few Good Men” at Mount Hebron, “A Midsummer Night's Dream” at Marriotts Ridge and “Peter Pan” at Reservoir.
Some high schools have already hit the stage this semester. River Hill presented “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” in late October, and Oakland Mills staged a production of “Midsummer Night's Dream.”
For Atholton's theater program, “Crush” represented a fresh story and a challenge.
“I read the play ... and thought, ‘I could do that,'?” said Nathan Rosen, Atholton theater arts teacher and director. “There are a variety of interesting characters and the alien creature did catch my eye. I thought it was an interesting new way to get to issues with teenagers.”
The alien creature also provided a challenge for the crew, requiring special makeup for each of its faces — though it appears to everyone as a teenage girl, the alien has other bodies attached to it that can only be seen by the lead character, Bark.
“Each of the aliens have their own personality and way of moving,” said Zach Garrigus, who plays one of the creatures. “We don't really use that many props ... but those we do have pack a punch. It is funny to see yourself turn into an alien.”
To help create the aliens, Rosen invited Roger Riggle, a professional makeup artist who has worked at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, to host a makeup workshop with the students. Each of the alien faces is created using prosthetics attached to the face. Three of the masks are partial; the other is full-face.
“Roger Riggle was fabulous,” said Connor Dobson, who besides being an ensemble cast member is part of the makeup and design team. “He taught us the basics of how to apply the prosthetics.”
“Latex is the worst part to get off,” said Jordan Semmont, who wears the full-face treatment and has special gloves as part of her costume, too. “I have gloves with long finger-long things. I have lots of stuff.”
While the alien plot is a twist, the cast of “Crush” says the play is realistic in its treatment of issues.
“It is easy to relate to,” said Grace Tyson, 15. “The idea is, it is high school students facing regular student issues.”
“My character is definitely trying to figure out who she is,” said Molly Goldstein, who plays Chloe, Bark's girlfriend. “She's had some rough things to deal with. She is awkward and insecure.”
As Aspen, the alien teenager, Jennifer Yoo has the challenge of appearing like a normal teenager as dictated by the numerous beings that create her.
“It's definitely interesting,” Yoo said. “When we read it during theater class, I thought the character was sort of a challenge. I wanted it.”
Though this is his first high school production, Jace Franco, 14, has been in several productions, most recently in Toby's production of “Peter Pan” last summer.
“I've always been the youngest player,” Franco said. “This is much more laid-back, and more fun since I am with my peers.”
Like most things with teenagers, the story of “Crush” shows that even when “things seems to be going horribly wrong, this too shall pass,” said Rosen, who has taught theater arts at Atholton for 20 years.
“Aliens are an interesting concept,” Rosen said. “Overall, it is a romantic comedy. The kids worked so hard and learned special makeup. It's been an adventure.”
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