By Ramil Lorenzo Gonzalez
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Homer’s classic “Odyssey” was given a modern twist in Central Theatre Arts Academy’s (CTAA) latest production: “Anon(ymous),” written by playwright Naomi Iizuka. The show, which ran from Oct. 28 to 29 and Nov. 4 to 5, was a chance for its budding actors to try new things and gain skill as performers.
“Most of the cast hadn’t been in CTAA before or it was their first play,” explained Junior Kamuela-Dawn Napoleon, who played the goddess Naja, “So it was interesting to see them first going on stage and learning how to act and project and the basic rules of stage.”
The production told the story of Anon, an immigrant refugee from a war-torn country, in search for his mother in modern America. It featured a handful of fresh faces, from MHS newcomer Senior Laura Dux, who played Anon’s hopeful mother Nemasani, to the freshmen new to play production. “I lost a lot of seniors last year, and … most of the kids are new,” said CTAA Coordinator and Director Jamie Stroud, “This year’s group of freshmen are … pretty good, pretty dedicated.”
All talents, old and new, were found through open auditions. A large turnout led to a varied cast. “I wanted authenticity … people who had a sensitivity to immigrants (and) what they might experience being new to this country,” Stroud commented, in reference to the play’s depiction of America through foreign eyes, “I was looking for all different types of people (with) different looks.”
Among those talents was Anon himself, Junior Daniel Bayot, who had been closely following CTAA’s productions. “I was able to read (the script) before auditioning,” he said, “And I just got intense goose bumps just reading through it … I just knew I wanted to be a part of it.”
While he nabbed the part he wanted, Bayot still found some aspects of the role challenging. “Practices are a little stressful since this character is kind of the opposite of me. It’s a very shy and soft spoken character, (while) I’m in theater so I’m really outspoken,” he confessed. Other obstacles included complicated technical requirements, from the numerous sound cues to the varied sets. “They go from an ocean to a restaurant to all of these different places which obviously we don’t have a good space for,” Stroud said. “So we just really made everything indicated (and) we mimed some of the pieces.”
Another, more exciting challenge was found in the play’s sword fight between Bayot and Sophomore Colton Truitt, who played Mr. Mackus. “I’m sword-fighting my best friend actually,” said Bayot. “There’s a lot of technique to it (in) making sure you don’t hurt the other person. It’s kind of like learning a new martial art (but) … in a couple weeks.” Other cast members knew the result would be satisfying, including Napoleon. “There (are) some really cool fight scenes, and … battles that you wouldn’t usually see in high school plays,” she commented. “(It’s) very complicated choreography and it’s worth just to go and see the combat.”
Stroud hopes that audiences were able to relate to the content and classical references and appreciate the hard work the cast and crew spent in making the production possible.
