Behind The Scenes of Creek Theatre’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’

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The complete cast of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ before their Friday, November 12 show.

Cast members Kendall Schumm (11), Carly Simpson (12), Allie Seibel (12), Kastyn Borg (11), and Braxton Dietz (12) perform a climatic scene of ‘Sense and Sensibility.’

Creek Theatre’s production of “Sense and Sensibility,” adapted by Kate Hamill and based on the classic novel by Jane Austen, concluded on November 13. “On closing night, we had an amazing, really big audience, and I think it was a hit. The very ending scene, where my character professes his love to the female lead, the audience went crazy closing night.” said Braxton Dietz (12), who played Edward Ferrars, and also serves as the President of Creek Theatre’s adjoining International Thespian Society troupe. “‘Sense and Sensibility’ is sort of a hard show to play because there are parts that slow down, and it can get boring if you’re not careful, so I was interested in the challenge, to bring all the underlying symbolism, drama, romance, heartbreak, and twists and turns to life,” said Dietz.

Andrew Moser (11), who played John Dashwood, said he was able to relate to his character. “I’m really thankful that I had John Dashwood as my character because we are both very similar in a lot of ways. We’re both understanding, kind, and a little bit quirky.” Moser, who’s future plans include participation in theatre, said that the show exceeded expectations. “I think that all three of our shows went better than we expected, because we worked really hard to make this show possible, and I think that this is something that I will forever treasure,” said Moser. 

Assistant directors Cal Winkler (10) and Morgan Wylie (11) worked with both the actors and technical crews.

Behind the scenes, Cal Winkler (10), worked in conjunction with the actors and tech crews as assistant director. “My favorite part was being able to make friends in the play. I was able to participate in directing too, which was fun,” said Winkler. Director Mrs. Messenger expressed that all three performances of the show went smoothly. “The play went fantastic. The audiences were great, everything went really well, and we were very excited to be back in person and have an audience,” said Messenger. “The most challenging part of the play was the technical aspects, we had 37 scene changes where we were bringing furniture on and off with limited resources and limited set pieces, we had to at least create the illusion that each place was a different place,” said Messenger. “Sense and Sensibility” was the first Creek Theatre production open to a public audience in two years due to COVID restrictions. “My favorite part was seeing all the hard work that the cast and crew put in come together on opening night for a spectacular show. Every challenge was overcome, and it all came together,” said Messenger.