By: Shivali Shah, Digital Editor
Over the years, River Hill has put on a myriad of shows, all of which have inspired and evoked awe in their audiences. The latest edition to this immense collection of performances is Trap, a play of mystery and suspense.
Trap, a play written by Stephen Gregg, depicts the story of an indecipherable event: every person in the audience of a high school play falls unconscious– all but one. Using interviews and other various clues, the characters of the play must find the cause of this eerie phenomenon, something that might not be over just yet. Through its interactive elements and documentary-style narration, Trap immediately commands the attention of its audience.
Compared to previous River Hill productions, Trap has significantly more monologues, something that the cast says was difficult to manage. Junior Abi Asante–who played Maura Aoki, a concerned member of the community who was being interviewed about the peculiar event– explains that “since it’s an interview-style, it’s mostly monologues; there’s not that many conversations.” Sophomore Penny Tofigh–who played the character Real Kenosha, the only person who knows what really happened to the audience– adds, “Monologues are just super long lines that take forever to memorize.”
The hands-on aspects of the play are another element that the cast says was sometimes hard to navigate. As Abi describes, “It’s not like a traditional play, it’s an interactive show. You could see people going into the audience or on the top of the stage. So memorizing your lines to work with the actual dynamics and moving pieces of the show, as well as inserting that with your lines was super hard.”
These unique challenges required the cast to adapt to a new dynamic that relied on collaboration and perseverance. As Penny notes, “A lot of it was memorization and repeating our lines. We had rehearsals every other day, so just repping it [was a large part of our memorization.]” This rigorous rehearsal schedule helped the cast build confidence, but it was the teamwork that truly made a difference. Penny elaborates, “We communicated like ‘Hey, maybe we should try to do that differently’ if people messed up. And with the memorization, that took a lot longer to overcome, but to work on it we would run lines with each other and write them down together.” These solutions proved useful in their progress as Abi explains, “By the Sunday show, everything went super smoothly; it’s just a lot of practice.”
The cast of Trap had a clear vision of what they wanted the audience to take away from the performance. Penny shares her desire for viewers to experience a sense of intrigue and unease, stating, “I wanted them to be a little scared and want them to be like ‘what just happened.’ I wanted them to be left thinking about it and trying to understand it better.” Similarly to Penny, Abi emphasizes her goal to make the “audience ponder about what happened. It would be really cool to see audience members actually scared and show their emotions while watching the show. [It’s] supposed to bring out your raw emotions and make you really think.” By creating a narrative rich with suspense, the cast aims to leave their audience with a spooky feeling, ensuring that the performance lingers in their minds long after the final curtain falls.
As for the audience’s experience with the play, the consensus is that the performance was a resounding success! Junior Eri Omitowoju, who attended the October 26th showing, shares her thoughts, explaining, “I thought it was so good. The acting was good, the set was good, the costumes were good. It was scary.” Junior Emily Yen, who also viewed the October 26th show, adds, “I felt like it was really good compared to other years. I really liked the set, and it was a little confusing at first, but overall it was really good. Very scary. I think because I got scared during the play that it was more entertaining.” The audience’s reactions affirm that Trap not only achieved its goals but also engaged its viewers in memorable and thought-provoking experiences.
The actors of the play attribute their successful performance to the vibrant and inclusive community that is River Hill Theater Arts. Abi credited her reason for auditioning to “mainly the community. The community at River Hill Theater is such an awesome place. Everybody is super nice, and you’re always going to find a place in theater. I feel like I wanted to add to that sense of community for anybody else who wanted to join theater. And theater is one of the things that I’m super passionate about, I love it.” Trap created a dynamic atmosphere that not only enhanced the audience’s experience but also enriched the overall theatrical journey for the cast, crew and everyone involved in making this thrilling production happen.