By Meena Ropp
September 23, 2019
Jerica Kholsa, Centennial’s theater director, is currently directing the famous play Our Town by Thornton Wilder, which is to be shown on December 6-7.
Our Town, starring the students Sofia Kamal, Ben Christoferson, and Austin Chase, explores the simplicity of American daily life.
“Thornton Wilder’s style is very simple but beautiful, which is why, in the play, the stage scenery is very open,” Khosla says.
Khosla explained that she is an interpretive director which implies that she strives to exactly portray Wilder’s style through her students by encouraging them to act with natural human nature and using Wilder’s method of invisible props. “I want them to do little things like twirling their hair around their finger or lifting a finger up to their faces when they think.”
Seeing her students succeeding on stage and portraying Wilder’s strong message to enjoy life while it lasts excites Khosla the most because it reflects her fondness of WIlder’s intention to show the simplicity of life that impacts the audience through the actors.
During rehearsals, Khosla says that one of the most difficult things about producing a play is time management because she feels she must meet certain goals at each rehearsal to focus on the details of the play while also keeping to a tight schedule.
“You don’t realize how much time gets away from you,” she explained.
The lead actors, Kamal, Christoferson, and Chase, all express their excitement to be acting the lead roles in the play for it provides great opportunities for them to enhance their acting skills and add their own special additions to the play and Wilder’s style.
Sofia Kamal plays Emily Webb, who in the storylines marries George Gibb, portrayed by Austin Chase, in a tale of their high school love, marriage, and Emily's sorrowful death.
In this powerful scene as Chase portrays Gibbs’ grieving for the death of his wife, Kamal portrays a touching scene as she recalls the beauty of life.
Throughout the entire play, the stage manager, played by Ben Christoferson, plays a god-like role in which he interacts with both the stage cast and the audience.
Through a detailed process, months of rehearsing, and plenty of preparation, Our Town will be perfected while embracing Wilder’s style, Khosla’s interpretive skills, and the interpretation of the lead actors just in time for the students of Centennial High School and the Pueblo community to be welcomed on December 6-7 to witness the brilliance of this masterpiece.
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