Proctor Academy’s Theater Department performed The Foreigner on February 24 and February 25 in the Wilkins Meeting House. Prior to the production, Andover’s Britta Johnson wrote the following article for Proctor’s Web site to share the intricacies of the production process with the community. Andover’s Amanda Hinds ‘19 was also involved in the production. Thank you Britta for sharing!

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The winter production of The Foreigner is moving into the final month. The set construction crew is working at breakneck speed to complete the set, the costumers are sewing and distressing, and searching the vast reaches of the costume shop, and the cast of the show is learning their lines and working out the kinks in the blocking. Energy is high and everyone is looking ahead to opening night.

Despite the hurried pace and heightened stress of the final month, the cast and crew still find ways to entertain themselves. It is a regular sight to see students throwing chicken puppets at each other. No one knows where these strange creatures came from, but they are a source of entertainment. One must be careful in the downtime between rehearsal and set construction. Beware of flying chicken puppets!

A source of mystery for the cast and crew revolves around the missing chicken puppet known as Patricia. She was thrown at a cast member during a break in rehearsal and was never recovered. An ongoing search has been conducted since the unfortunate incident, which has yielded no results until recently.

As we have discovered today, there has been a reported chicken puppet sighting near the English department. More knowledge on this lead is currently being gathered. The theater department could use some help in locating this valuable member of our crew. If you see a chicken finger puppet around campus, please alert a member of the theatre department at once.

As the cast gets used to being off-book, errors are not uncommon. These bloopers run the gamut. Occasionally the actors will forget their lines, or the blocking, or in some unforgettable instances, yell their lines with exceptional anger, much to the amusement of the rest of the cast. Once the laughter begins, it is often hard to stop.

As the show comes together, the tech crew is working hard. There are the builders, the painters, the costume aficionados, and the light and sound technicians. They are a good team, and it is always fun to watch their progress.

At the end of each day, the set has evolved into something better. Every day brings new developments. On one day, the wall that’s needed paint will finally be finished. The next day, the counter that’s been falling apart is fixed. It’s going to look amazing once it’s done.

As a member of the cast, it’s been wonderful to see how each actor and their respective characters have transformed over the course of the show. We’ve learned our lines, our blocking, our cues, and our accents. It’s been a process. The payoff will be worth it.