Drama preps for fall play

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Calvin Ru

Juniors Nicholas Azurin and Riley Mawhorter rehearse their roles for the fall play, “The Skin of Our Teeth.”

Ingrid Chan, Staff Writer

In just four weeks, Diamond Bar High School’s drama students will be performing a wildly imaginative play – one that includes pet mammoths and dinosaurs. The Pulitzer Prize winning play “The Skin of Our Teeth” was first performed in 1942, and was written by Thornton Wilder near the start of World War II, highlighting darker themes such as survival and war while still remaining humorous.

The play is set in a variety of different places and frequently skips around to other time periods. Consisting of three acts, it’s centered on a single family and their hardships over many decades. The allegory emphasizes how mankind is always on the verge of extinction and yet is still able to find a way to continue moving forward. By struggling to survive the many catastrophes that the world throws their way, the family manages to hold on to life by “the skin of their teeth”.

“I think the audience will really like the interaction in this play, especially since it has lots of humour while still remaining serious about real world problems like war and other human problems,” Drama teacher Beatrice Casagran said.

“The Skin of Our Teeth” stars Jonah Martinez as father George Antrobus, Julianna King as mother Maggie Antrobus, Luke Teerling and Ellie Desmond as their children Henry and Gladys, as well as Chloe Reyes as their maid, Sabina. The cast has been rehearsing since they received their scripts in May, amounting up to several months of dedicated preparation.

With archetypal characters not placed in a chronological timeframe, the settings in which the story takes place are a mix of modern, historical, and fictional situations. For example, the opening scene starts with the family living in a track home in New Jersey, in the midst of an Ice Age. The second act occurs in the 1990s with the impending danger of a massive flood, a reference to Noah’s Ark, while the third act is also set in the future in an undisclosed time.

Since it was written in the early forties, the play still contains some dated concepts that differ from the ones we have today, such as the relationships between men and women. The drama students have adjusted a few of these ideas accordingly.

“The Skin of Our Teeth,” as portrayed by the DBHS drama students, will also include some acapella singing, but not enough to make it a musical. This play also features some audience involvement.

Pre-sale tickets are $9 for students and $11 at the door; for adults, $12 for the pre-sale and $14 at the door. “The Skin of Our Teeth” will be performed at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6-7 and 13-14.