A highlight of the school year is when the Drama Class puts on their play.  They have been learning parts, building stage sets and props for several weeks.  I’ve been watching their progress with great interest – not just as their Guidance Counselor, but as mother of a couple of the students.  Click here for a blog post about preparations for the play.

This year the play was “Barbecuing Hamlet” a comedy about a community theater who hires a New York director for their play of Hamlet, set in the Old West!  Needless to say, zaniness ensues!  What we were not prepared for was all the extra zaniness this year!

For starters, during the final week of preparation before the play, known as “Production Week” when students practice after school each day, both of the teachers for the class – director and set director – became ill.

Then, on opening night, the first several minutes of the play were drowned out by the sound of rain pounding on the auditorium roof.  Once that stopped, the rest of the night went smoothly enough.  It was a full house, and a rousing success!

That night the rains came again, with strong wind causing a tree to fall on the high tension wires.  Read all about that fiasco here.  But Ron wasn’t worried, after all, the generator, our alternative power source, is below the damage from the storm.

However, when he tried to start the generator that afternoon for make-up and play preparations, it kept cutting out.  He could not get it to stay on!  Meanwhile, our students were flexible, and did make-up outside!

Eventually Ron set up a small generator just enough to power the stage lights – with several extension cords so the sound of the generator would not drown out the actors.

However, he didn’t know that the fuel filter needed cleaning, so part way into the play, the generator quit, and cut out part of the lights.  Thankfully Kristy, the set director, had purchased new LED lights for the stage, and these were powered by a box that held a charge for a little while.  Ron spent the night running back and forth from auditorium to generator turning it back on when it gave out.

During intermission the 9th grade class sold snacks on the Pavilion.  For lighting there a car was driven up onto the soccer field above to shine headlights onto the Pavilion.  Audience members generally had flashlights with them — it just added to a more unique atmosphere.

Back for the 2nd half of the show, the small generator had had some down time to rest and begin again with full lights… for a while!

So at times we had full lights.

At times there were only colored LED lights.

And at times all the lights gave out and people were stationed near the front with flashlights to use for stage lighting!

One thing I didn’t even know until it was over — Ben, who had been in charge of the lights, had to do quite a bit of switch flipping to get the pre-programmed lights up to the right place each time the power went out!  And he handled it very well.

This crazy production, made even crazier by the unusual circumstances only proves to us again what amazing students we have at RFIS.  They had a great time, were not flustered, and were even heard singing during the intermission songs like “Shine Jesus Shine” and “Amazing Grace”.

In all the power problems over the weekend, and following, there are also evidences that God is in control.

• Due to illnesses it had been decided in advance that the traditional all night cast party was not happening this year.
• School Administration had moved the end of the quarter up 2 weeks, so Progress Reports, normally due this week, with limited / possibly no power, were already done.
• The big generator was only out of commission the 2nd night of the play and thankfully is back working now that school is in session.
• The timing of needed repairs – We only have 4 days of school this week before Semester Break, allowing time to cut trees or dig a ditch or whatever needs done before the power company will restore us to full city power.