Daily Sitka Sentinel

Sitka Theater Back On Stage

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

The actors are putting on makeup in the dressing rooms, the crew is double-checking the props table, and the director and tech director are watching the stage for any missed details before final rehearsal of “The Odd Couple” Thursday night.

In other words, it looks like an ordinary dress rehearsal, with all the jitters and excitement and last-minute adjustments backstage. Nothing to mark it as the first full-length stage play in Sitka before a live audience since the pandemic shut down shows last year.

“(It’s) exciting,” Director Christian Litten said. “Happy to get some theater back on the stage.”

Olive (Zia Allen), right, offers Mickey (Sagan McLaughlin) some refreshments in the opening scene of the  Sitka High School Theater Department production of “The Odd Couple (Female Version),” directed by Christian Litten. Also pictured are Sally Everson as Vera, second from left, and Danica Majeski as Sylvie. Shows are 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Performing Arts Center. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

The Sitka High production of “The Odd Couple (the female version)” opens at 7 p.m. tonight at the Performing Arts Center. Other shows are 7 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The show is presented by the SHS Theater Department.

COVID-19 precautions are in place, including rapid tests for the cast and crew before taking the stage, and masks are required for the audience.

The play is a 1985 revision of the original Broadway smash hit from 1965 about a pair of roommates, one a slob (Oscar/Olive) and the other a neat freak (Felix/Florence) as the latter navigates a newly single life.

“This is a dialog-heavy play, not a lot of effects or set changes,” Litten said. “Also a comedy – we wanted to do something funny.”

He said he selected a play that fit this group of actors, most of whom are girls. Litten also tried to find a piece with roles that would challenge the actors in this after-school activity.

“It’s been intense at times, you have good days and bad days but everything’s getting better,” he told the Sentinel earlier this week. “There’s a lot of dialog the kids have to learn; it’s a mature play, so memorization and characterization are the challenges.”

The last play Litten directed was “Fuddy Meers” in 2019, and he’s coached the school’s DDF team for five years.

Actors echoed Litten’s comments about struggling with memorizing, with a few adding that the “accents” and “makeup” were also challenges. But all those who spoke to the Sentinel felt that the show would go over well with audiences.

Zia Allen, a senior who plays Olive, is a veteran of Young Performers Theater and other Sitka Fine Arts Camp programs, and was on the drama, debate and forensics team.

She said this is a new type of role for her – Artful Dodger, Horton the Elephant and Jester are among her other “happier, sensitive people” roles over the years at Odess Theater. Her character here is “chill but judgmental.”

Izzy Williams, a junior, also has a full resume that has included roles in “Alice in Wonderland,” “Seussical,” and “Once Upon a Mattress,” among others. She plays the uptight member of the dysfunctional duo.

“This is the first real comedy I’ve been in,” she said. “It’s an interesting role to play because it’s very much opposite of my personality, so that’s cool.

Williams said one of the lessons of the play is the difficulty of cohabitation.

“Despite how close you are, you will find issues with the other person,” she said. “If you’re in close contact with someone ... No relationship is perfect.”

SFAC’s Elle Campbell is the tech director, scenic designer and lighting designer for the show, and trained the all-student crew to run the show, with freshman Rianna Bergman as stage manager. The crew checked over the props table and had the set ready for the 7 p.m. run-through Thursday night; Zoe Trafton knocked on the dressing room doors announcing countdown times, and prepared sandwiches as props in the Green Room down the hall.

“They’re learning a lot, they’re doing great, especially with a prop-heavy show like this,” she said. “(For example) if the die isn’t there for the Trivial Pursuits the actors don’t know what to do.”

She said creating Olive’s apartment took a full volunteer force, including parents and community members. Claire Turner painted a beautiful cityscape through the apartment window; Jack Petersen created a ’90s-era air conditioner and a “fully burnt chicken,” Campbell said.

Backstage, the boys dressing room is slightly emptier than the girls’ down the hall, but no less enthusiastic. Eliot Holloway and Ben Hedrick, two YPT mainstays, are joined by Felix Myers, a newcomer whose CV includes a production called “Everyone Gets Abducted by Aliens.”

“Spoiler alert,” commented a fellow cast member.

They gave this play solid reviews, and said the audience should get some good laughs. The main challenges? “Pulling the most drama out of a line as you possibly can,” Holloway said.

The girls had similar comments about how much they like the show, with Danica Majeski calling it “life filled,” and “very funny.” Sagan McLaughlin summarized, “a new take on a classic show.” 

A few commented that the New York accents have been challenging. “Rs don’t exist,” McLaughlin said.

The stage crew said to look for some artful “choreography” in the set changes, and smooth transitions from one scene to the next.

Highlights for the crew during tech week included “going on the catwalk.” For Bergman, it’s been, “doing something with a community, for the community, I guess.”

Looking back on her years as a young stage performer in Sitka, Allen said she feels lucky to have had the experiences she’s had. Next fall she will attend Southern Oregon University’s musical theater program.

“Growing up in a town where I could do so much theater, it’s been so fun, it’s been a great experience,” she said. “I’m so grateful I had a tight-knit community that’s so supported.”

The cast is Zia Allen as “Olive”; junior Izzy Williams as “Florence”; Sagan McLaughlin as “Mickey”; Danica Majeski as “Sylvie”; Sally Everson as “Vera”; Ben Hedrick as “Renee”; Felix Myers as “Manolo”; and Eliot Holloway as “Jesus.” The student crew is Rianna Bergman (stage manager) Sunny McClenahan, Quinton Newsome and Zoe Trafton.

The show has some mature language and adult themes.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students at the door.