Babies in the Black Box
Babies are going blind in the Black Box Theatre! What will we do! Make a play about it…of course…a play about it. In typical Mr. Rocha fashion, he finds the funniest, funkiest, finest plays on the market for his cast to act out. In store today is Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind by Greg Allen. To learn more about this peculiar production, many people were asked about their thoughts on the experience.
The Terrific Thirty & More: Tasks, Talking, & Tragedy
Title
The beginning of everything. Straightforward statements and quick questions tear a relationship in half…
MacBeth
A tragedy in the kingdom, full of murder, revenge, and talking trees…but are they really trees?
Father Daughter Dance
A heartfelt dedication to the bond between fathers and daughters, coming up on stage together to dance and spend time together.
This play is completely improvised.
The rule “yes, and” is an understatement. 1 4 6 2 8 Alpha 4 4 4 racehorse 8 4 5 Timothy Loversky 2 3 9 9 9. Yes, and there was more where that came from in this play.
Spectacle of Ourselves
A culmination of the main character’s struggles, all imagined in the heads of their peers. Do glasses really make a difference?
Building (Original Title) /Summoning the Beat (Rocha Title)
Words fill the air, seemingly robotic, as the metronome clicks…and keeps on clicking, over and over.
The Verdict
A debate over ownership, unsure of each other’s intentions. The receiver cannot decide whether to take it or not, threatened by a hammer capable of execution.
Love, Sophie
Reading a letter out loud can have consequences, especially if someone was not meant to hear it. The letter drives Sophie (congratulations on your performance) insane, leading them to manipulate someone…into eating earwax!
The Lower Depths
The human mind has lower depths that it can reach, and it may never feel great. In the person’s attempt to express connection, others show little consideration.
These Things Are All True
Each person in the spotlight says a statement. Every single statement was true. None of the statements applied to each of them, but rather to another who is in the spotlight, yet it may never be known who had which.
Manifest Destiny
A daring challenge to test people’s extremes…all for a piece of candy. Did it taste good at least?
Lessons for Living à la Lusia (Original Title) / Sarah Suggests Strategies for Success (Rocha Title)
A refreshing play to give the best life tips. All you have to do to avoid spending money is simple…make your parents pay for it! Easy as pie!
Ad Nauseum
A cycle of awkwardness, how to end a conversation 101, and the tired time loop of talking are all ways to describe the repetitive nature of the scene. Two people, both unsure how to end a conversation, engaged in basic small talk, trying to get out of it.
30 Second Tag
Actors run loose like there is no tomorrow…then audience members join in. In the thirty seconds of pure playtime, chaos is bound to erupt in some manner. After the clock ticks by thirty seconds, the game is halted to a stop.
Night Vision
In all the darkness emerges three shadowy figures, reminiscing of a woman they remembered, and who they wanted so dearly. Resolution never comes; only the acceptance that they will never see each other again.
The End of October
An autobiography about grief, telling a story of what was in the past, and the understanding and contemplation of these events.
… It’s How You Do It.
A strange demonstration of basic tasks. How do you drink water? Should it be swallowed straight up, after a jog, after oozing over, or with the help of a servant, feeding it like a bird to them? Apparently, there are many ways to get water.
The Voices of Walter Schumann
A performance of the musical arts, turning the classic concerto into an ice cream invitation or Comedy Central.
Still Image On A Wall
An image is portrayed on a wall, eerily still, with a woman, a child, and a baby. In an instant, horror releases…the baby moved! Seconds later…gone! Where did the baby go?
The Strangest Distance Between Any Two Points
A man has the desire to move from the first point to the second point in a straightforward manner. Until…the man questions his whole motive.
Wes Anderson
A simple, fast-paced show about the nuances and tendencies of Wes Anderson and his films.
Service With A Simile
A person sits in a chair, alone, rejecting help. Deep down, they need the help they are rejecting. Tension builds until only the person is left, helpless.
Play 23:
This pl█y █oes no█ ex█st,█sin█e th█ p██er █ot l█st. L██g█li███t█is█v██y███te██sti██ pl█y███ev█r█to██e█fo███tt██.
The Complete and Condensed Stage Direction of Eugene O’Neill, Volume 1: Long Day’s Journey Into The Night, Act Two, Scene 1
A story taking the playwright Eugene O’Neill’s overcomplicated stage directions a bit too literally.
Droplet
Exploring the world of human existence, the short play looks at how fragile life is, comparing many things to a droplet.
You’re About to Be Cheated
A very short play building suspense…and leaving you with nothing after curtain.
Thinking of You Again
A short, fourth-wall-breaking play contemplating the emotional tension that is in many of the plays of the larger Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind.
Ten Years…And Six Months
A short, romantic play about finding a partner who will give back and appreciate, symbolized by the use of flowers, a common gift between people.
Henry VI, Act IV, Scene II, Line 86
A serious, but entertaining act where an audience member stands on trial… for their horrific crimes! Was the accused ever punished? It may never be known…
Honestly
To survive this play, the actor selected by the audience is sentenced to answer any questions the audience asks. Who’s up first?
The Real Name of This Play Has Never Been Spoken and Perhaps Can Never Be Said
An argument of false turns, out-of-the-blue conspiracy theories, and phrases turned into secret messages. When is the real end of this play?
Young Person’s Guide to Synchronicity
A man has his cats, all 365, each named after a date. It is said that if a cat were to come to you, it signifies an important date, maybe a wedding or birthday.
Shabani
What is better than a scene of a journalist yelling at a gorilla about his troubles? With the help of cereal and unnecessary grunts, what will happen?
The Story Of How █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ – █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
A simple storytelling before…it was interrupted by the author, swaying the story. Over and over, interrupted some more, until tension arises and the script goes haywire. Or was there a script?
Prestidigitation
The narrator explores the diversity and depth of the hand, and the connotations of the simple and complex gestures humans can form from them with their digits.
Special Features: Student-Written Plays
Car Seat Hierarchy
What is the power balance…in a car? Find out, as a family of actors experiences the struggles of driving on a long, excruciating road trip.
Game Show
The Game Show Game Show! It is a show inside a show that the actors wanted to show. What happens when a game show is rigged to its extremes, where clouds become purple, and crayons can be invisible?
Interviews
Actor: Sarah Stone
What is your favorite thing about theatre?
“My favorite thing about theatre is getting to disappear into a different person and forget about my own problems.”
What is your favorite moment or moments from this production?
“My favorite moments of Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind are probably our random dance parties, writing the student-written plays, when I was on vacation in Disney, memorizing my lines, and when I got to do a play where I slowly went insane.”
Are you continuing in high school?
“I am continuing theatre in high school, I will audition for all plays and musicals and drama club.”
Do you have anything else you want to say about the production or theatre in general?
“I just want to encourage people to audition for theatre if it’s something that interests them or to just watch and enjoy others.”
Prop Crew: Aria Han
What is your favorite thing about theatre?
“Well, there’s a lot of things I enjoy about theatre, but I love that it brings people together and (for me) it’s mainly just a time to have fun with my friends while doing a play.”
What is your favorite moment or moments from this production?
“My favorite moment was probably hanging out with tech during rehearsals and getting to know the other girls on props.”
Are you continuing in high school?
“Maybe. I’m not sure if I have the time to continue, but if I am presented with the opportunity to pursue theatre and it fits in my schedule, then I’ll definitely do it.”
Do you have anything else you want to say about the production or theatre in general?
“I’d say that this production was very fun to both participate in and watch. I enjoy watching others perform, and the actors in this show were very talented. Also, definitely consider doing backstage if you’re not into acting. It’s a really fun way to still experience theatre even if you aren’t the best at performing (like me).”
Tech Crew: Myself
Theatre is one of my passions as well. My perspective speaks from the tech crew side. In tech crew, I have been both ground crew, moving as fast as I could to transport set pieces, and Stage Manager, having to organize things for all of the ground crew on top of that role. This show was really fun, especially for how immersive it was with the audience. For such a simple set, the show was brought to life by the actors who put in a lot of hard work. Tech crew was in for a very interesting show, since it changed every night. The show was also really cool, since it was a smaller cast. In theatre, you will meet people you would not have always met, and it really builds a community that you can find and rely on. In general, it was a good production, and I know I will continue with theatre to some degree in high school.
House Manager (and more): Mrs. Bach
Most people know you were involved, but what was your role?
“In the spring play, I [was] the front of the house manager, I [was] the props mistress, and the costume mistress.”
How did you get into theatre or performing arts?
“I always had a flair for the dramatic as a kid, and my parents saw that, and so, through school and through park district stuff as a kid, I just started to, like, audition for things, and do things at my school, too. Then in high school, I did theatre…but then I also did like community theatre—just kept kind of going with it. I didn’t do a whole lot of theatre in college, because of the demands of being a music education major, but then when I got out of college, I started doing so, performing too, in addition to teaching. I’ve just loved it, I’ve done stuff on stage, I’ve worked on production teams, I’ve directed and music-directed and choreographed, but I’ve also been a tech kid, too, like I’ve also been on tech crew, and lots of, like, hair and makeup, and set crew in high school too.”
What is your favorite moment or moments from this production?
“My favorite moments were when it all started to click for the cast, when they finally had things blocked, and were running things. They were starting to get into a rhythm with each other, and you could see the different scenes, the different vignettes coming together. That was really exciting for me. I also think this was a really cool and unique show, because of how integrated the tech was, and the props were, and how everybody was visible, everybody had the same shirt. It really was a great way to show, and you know, the cast can’t exist without a good crew, and a good crew can’t exist without a good cast, and how symbiotically everybody has to work to put on a good show. I think this show, especially, because how everybody was like one unit up at the front, really showed that.”
What is your favorite thing about theatre?
“I am always just in awe of the product, especially with musical theatre, you have the acting, the dance, the singing, the pit orchestra, the tech, so many different categories of the arts, all coming together to form one really cool production, and I think that is what I love. When I go to a show, I just love looking at the big picture of how, like, this art form combines with this art form and this art form and this art form, just to combine to create this really cool, one piece of art. I like performing on stage, I love being a director and choreographer, it’s kind of fun, because when you create, you’re often by yourself, and you don’t get to see what it’s all going to look like, until you teach the blocking, you teach the choreography, you teach the singing, you get lights and sound and set pieces. It’s all in your head, and one day it’s not, so as a production team person, that’s kind of really cool. To finally see what was in your head comes to life.”
Do you have anything else you want to say about the production or theatre in general?
“If there is any ounce of your being that is a little curious about theatre, whether it’s onstage stuff or offstage stuff, middle school is the perfect time to try it. So, I would just encourage all students that if there’s any curiosity or desire to try theatre at Wredling, I would urge them to get involved.”
The Guy Who Got a Funko Pop! of Himself and a Quote Board: Mr. Rocha
What was your role in this production, though I think many people know?
“I was the director.”
How did you get into theatre or performing arts?
“Ha ha ha…by accident in high school as a football player, played from kindergarten to senior year, and I blew my knees out, got to school, and my roommate was in theater, and I got a phone call, and he said he’d need to borrow my bicycle to go pick something up from the store. So, I rode my bicycle over, and the guy who was the director looks at me and goes, ‘Oh, is this our comedian? Are you the person that’s going to be doing the jokes on stage?’, and I got suckered into it, and I fell in love with it, and I’ve been doing it ever since my freshman year. Literally, two weeks into my freshman year.”
Why did you pick to do this play?
“It is one of my favorite plays. The whole idea is minimalistic theater, which I love. It got the tech involved, it got props, and I got everybody involved in the show, and it was literally just like we put something on from the street, which is what it is. I saw it when I was 23, and it changed the way I thought a theater, and it set in motion the way I want to do theater, and seeing that I could get everybody involved, it just seemed like the perfect choice, especially with the group of kids I had this year, because the group of tech and actors, I knew could pull it off.”
How did it feel directing an improv show, as it is different from some of your other shows?
“Yeah, this one is very fully flowing. Most of our rehearsals were kind of just getting to know you, and just sitting and talking, because it was more important for me to build connections with the cast then perform the word specifically is written, because if I could create [a bond] between crew and cast, a solid relationship, it would feel very natural on stage, whereas, if I did another play where it was very scripted, you know, actors have to hit their marks, set pieces have to be an exact locations, lighting has to be perfect, but with this one, the whole rehearsal process was just very free form, and very loose, which I [had] really never done before.”
What is your favorite moment or moments from this production?
“My favorite moment was the Monday before we went live, before the shows as a cast and crew, we were struggling. We didn’t know what we were doing, and I was kind of worried. Monday, at the rehearsal, everything came together, and everybody involved just seemed to get it, and get what the whole idea was, and every performance and every rehearsal after that was exactly what my vision was. So, it was that Monday before the first show, where we all became neo-futurists.
What is your favorite thing about theatre?
“It’s changed up until this year. It used to be the story. I love to tell the story, and that everything was about the story, right, but this year, with [the group of students], especially 8th graders, I found out the biggest thing about theater is the connections. How we connect to each other as people, and those bonds that we make, that to me is more important, because if you make those bonds, then the story comes, the acting comes, the props come, the set designer, all that comes [together], but if you don’t have the connections, you don’t trust each other, and so you can’t put on a the best performance you can put [on]. So, I guess the best, most important thing to me is forming the connections and building that family.”
Do you have anything else you want to say about the production, theatre, or anything in general?
“The thing that Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind made me realize was that we can accomplish anything if we put our minds to it. It was such a different way of performing that nobody in this building has done before, and Mrs. Bach and I always try to strive for a level more than Middle School. You know the typical Middle School thing, but this showed me that there’s even more to it, there’s more to who we are and what we do, that I can trust more than I’ve done, and I’m a very trusting director. I tend to give [a lot] to my cast and crew, but this one was kind of like, I can sit back. About theater in general, I think we need to go to more theater. We need to do more theater. We need to embrace theater. We need to support the arts because we can’t let theater die. Everything we do is theater, from watching the news to watching TikTok. Everything is theater, and if we don’t have an understanding of theater, we will accept what anybody tells us.”
Curtain Call
I think a great way to take in the depth provided by the many partakers in Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind is to take a quote from Judi Dench, a person considered one of the greatest actors of all time:
In reality, theatre is the unknown. Theatre is the expression of what being human is, and so, to play a character is to play as a version of yourself. The actors, and even the crew serving their job, all play a character, one to fit the world we created. Without theatre, we lose one of the greatest ways of expressing ourselves and of expressing our own originality that stems from being human. So, if being human, or anything about theatre and the platform of expression it provides to any interests you have, take from the many you have heard and try theatre, and if you like, we can trap you in it. After all, theatre probably does have some pyramid schemes going on. In all seriousness, many could and can join theatre, and it is a great opportunity. Thank you for reading one of my last articles I will make at Wredling. To be in theatre is to act human, and what more could you want from being yourself and being proud of it.
