On Friday, December 8 and Saturday, December 9, the John Adams Drama Club performed their play Elsewhere. Elsewhere tells the story of four girls who find their way to a world of imagination, called Elsewhere, when they break into an old, decrepit house that is rumored to be haunted. The play is ultimately a tale of growing up and embracing hope for the future. Xiomara Velez, the director, commented, “We chose Elsewhere because we [were] interested in the set and storyline, that’s always one of the biggest challenges in finding and choosing a play. We want to make sure both actors and set crew will enjoy it, and that it’s fun for everyone.”
The four leads, Chiara Torma as Ariel, Aoife O’Brien as Sylvan, Grace Geels as Jenne, and Savanaha Pulsifer as Vi, had very well-defined personalities. When they went to their own Elsewheres, which essentially are their own imaginations whether it be dreams or nightmares, it was interesting to get a glimpse into a deeper side of each character. The main character, Ariel, had some particularly compelling character development. Chiara Torma, who played Ariel and was the assistant director, stated, “We had some complications after casting that led to me being cast as Ariel a few weeks into rehearsal. Although I was thrown into it without preparation or expectation, I’m very glad I played her. It was such a great experience and Ariel was my favorite from the first leadership read-through in the summer, so it seemed perfect!” Chiara Torma fit the role perfectly.
Some noteworthy side characters were Maeve O’Brien as the Amber Phoenix, Karin Visser as the Tooth Fairy, and Aayla McCann as the Clockmaker. Each actor made their character come to life with an incredible vibrancy: the Amber Phoenix was energetic and positive, the Tooth fairy was psychotic and creepy, and the Clockmaker was formal, yet bitter. Karin Visser commented on her role, “I feel like if I had any in common, I would be labeled as a homicidal maniac and placed in an insane asylum… However, I absolutely loved combining the myth of the tooth fairy and sort of Bellatrix Lestrange-esqe mannerisms!” Visser’s description of the Tooth Fairy pretty much sums up the character, which was wonderfully portrayed by her.
One of the most well-done scenes in the play was when Ariel, being in her Elsewhere, re-lived her memory of getting a brain surgery. The scene had an emotional impact and also explained to the audience Ariel’s desire to stop time. Director Xiomara Velez’s favorite scene was “the Mr. and Mrs. Bear scene. I loved the comedy in it and the roles that were portrayed. I feel like everyone had fun with it and added their own personal touch to the characters.” Indeed, that scene was highly entertaining and gave the audience a glimpse into Jenna’s life. Karin Visser stated, “my favorite scene was the scene with Jacob and the monster under the bed! It was really fun to watch Forest learn the monster’s voice and scare Sarah every time he slipped under the bed.” The best few scenes almost all seemed to come from going through each character’s individual Elsewhere.
The hair and costumes were excellently done with the highlights being the Frostbringer’s white dazzling dress and the Tooth Fairy’s braids. The set was very intricate and impressive. There were several places for the characters to pop out of including a toy chest in the middle of the stage! It was surprising to see how few set crew members came out to take a bow at the end considering the amount of effort that was obviously showcased in the construction of the set. The transitions from the old house to Elsewhere were a little confusing and the storyline was slightly hard to follow, but overall, the play was well-executed.
Elsewhere was, in total, a creative and interesting play that was well-performed. Chiara Torma commented, “This year we had a fairly smaller cast than other years, and navigating that proved to be pretty difficult. We had to keep pulling people to play more roles than they were originally cast. I do believe that because of this, the most growth that I saw within the production was with the actors. This year’s cast was full of first-time actors, including one of our four leads. I’m so proud of every single actor, and I can’t even begin to explain how much they grew.” Xiomara Velez talked about what she learned from the experience saying that she learned, “… time management and patience. It’s easy to get carried away and overwhelmed with so much going on, but planning everything out and taking it one step at a time helps you breathe. No one said it was easy, but it’s worth it in the end, and I loved every second of it.” There is so much growth that can be a product of school plays, so supporting them by showing up to shows is extremely important. It will be very exciting to see what the John Adams Drama Club performs next spring.
