The cast for the new fall theatre play, Anonymous, came out recently and it has all the cast members excited yet nervous. When they auditioned, they knew they were signing up for long hours of rehearsals for preparation for the play. Despite the stress they might be feeling, they know that it will be a cathartic experience, especially for the ones who aspire to get into the acting field.

There are about 35 cast members in this play. Katherine Brunberg, the drama teacher, gave a brief explanation of Anonymous stating that, “Anonymous is loosely based on the Odyssey, it is the story of one immigrant’s journey through America trying to find his mother, who he got separated from in a shipwreck, and on the way he encounters many different immigrants from different cultures and backgrounds.”

Cast members in a play or movie always struggle with a certain thing, hence the long hours of rehearsals.

Ms.Brunberg explains the biggest challenge the cast members face, “For this play, I’d say the one thing that people are struggling with is being able to understand another culture and accurately portray it on stage, because there are people playing characters that aren’t necessarily from their same background and so they need to open themselves up to be able to learn about and experience a different culture.”
Assistant director senior Shae Rigo explains that “As an assistant director I help block the scenes. I really want to focus on the acting and the acting techniques, it’s my goal for the show.”

Like almost everyone else in the play, Rigo says, “I think i’m most excited about the cultural dances and movements that we’re going to have.”
Every actor/actress face complications that they must overcome with the part they have. Sophomore Mariam Sesay plays Naja, a goddess, who helps the main character find his mother. Sesay would describe Naja as confident and beautiful. She talks about the complication she faces, “I have to kiss somebody on stage and it’s something I’ve never done before. It’s just really awkward for me.”

Other cast members struggle with their own things, which is precisely why rehearsals are long. Sesay goes on to explain, “Rehearsals are about 6 hours long. It depends on what character you are, because the main characters have rehearsals every day of the week, and there are others that you only need for certain scenes so they’re only required to come on a certain day.”

Although it’s going to be a challenge, Mariam Sesay claims that, “Me and the rest of the cast members are most excited about portraying characters’ diversity and adversity and how there are so many varieties of cultures.”