Stream The Fall Play, 4 AM, From Your Living Room This Year
More stories from Shannon Kane
Each year, Pingree students, faculty, and family members fill the theater on a chilly fall weekend to watch the fall play. Members of the cast and crew spend the entirety of trimester one rehearsing as an afternoon activity, and they look forward to sharing their hard work with the community.
Unfortunately, no one will be gathering in the theater to watch this year’s fall play, Jonanathan Dorf’s 4 A.M.. The play will be livestreamed, and there will be a Q&A/talk back session at the end for viewers to interact with the actors. Filming took place on Saturday, October 31, and the livestream will be available to a wide audience on Thursday, November 19, and Friday, November 20.
To face this new challenge, students had to learn how to act in front of a camera (rather than a live audience, which is what they are used to). “I really miss the other half of the cast,” says Niccie Jamitkowski, a senior in the blue cohort. “We all became so close last year, and it’s hard not seeing them every day. We came together as a full cast a few times, so I’m really grateful for that. The Arts Department is doing their best to recreate a normal fall play experience, which is super awesome.”
4 A.M. tells the story of several different people who are all doing various things at 4:00 in the morning. “There’s a jogger, two girls at a sleepover, a person struggling with mental health issues… it’s really about a theme of isolation, which is why we chose to do this particular play,” says Megan Onello, a senior in the green cohort.
In the play Megan plays two characters: a girl named Anne in a sleepover scene and a girl named Juliette in a more romantic setting. Set at a Zoom sleepover, Anne tries to wake up her friend Monica because she thinks the school will make fun of them if they fall asleep. As Juliette, Megan portrays one of two characters who are simultaneously deciding if they should text the other. “It’s a sort of 21st-century take on Romeo and Juliet,” she adds. Niccie plays a teenager named Jackie who struggles with mental illness. “I’ve never portrayed a character like Jackie before,” she says. “It has really been a cool experience.”
Even though families and friends will be watching from home this year, the cast is very excited to share their work with the student body. “We’re kind of sad that we won’t get to have a true ‘opening night,’ but I think it will be really cool to have people watch it from home. Plus, we can watch it, too!” Niccie explains.
4 A.M. will stream on Thursday, November 19 and Friday, November 20 at 7 pm via Zoom. A Google Form was sent out to the Pingree student body by Director Arlynn Poletta. Those interested in viewing either screening of 4 A.M. must fill out the form in order to gain access to Thursday or Friday nights’s live stream.