“Nunsense” a musical comedy presented by the Visual and Performing Arts Academy Drama Club in March had an encore run of shows the weekend of April 25-27 at a new venue, the Indio Performing Arts Center.
Mr. Bob Reinhagen, VAPA coordinator and director of the show was not surprised when he was approached to take the production on the road.
“I think we were invited to take “Nunsense” to IPAC because it was an opportunity for the theater to develop a mutually beneficial partnership that will help us in the future,” says Mr. Reinhagen.
“We played to near capacity crowds each performance,” says Mr. Reinhagen. “I was pleased with the level of energy the girls brought to their characters after not performing for two months.”
In choosing “Nunsense,” he says, “I was looking for a show that could feature some very talented young ladies that we, in VAPA, are blessed to get to work with and teach.”
The show is about an order of nuns called the Little Sisters of Hoboken who deal with tragedy in a very funny way. When 52 of the Sisters are killed by botulism in a soup prepared for them by their cook, Sister Rachel Ray (of Light), the remaining five sisters must find a way to bury the dead.
They use money they had earned from selling greeting cards, but come up short after Reverend Mother spends some of the money on a Plasma TV. The Sisters decide to hold a talent show at the local high school to raise money to bury the last four sisters who they have stored in the freezer. Hilarity follows when each of the Sisters steps into the spotlight and shares her talent.
C.V.’s production of “Nunsense” featured seven students and a teacher, all members of VAPA. The small cast and the opportunity to perform with students were two of the reasons Ms. Jeni Eskridge, drama teacher, agreed to play the role of Sister Mary Regina, the Reverend Mother. “When I work with students as fellow actors, it leaves a different taste in my mouth. Someone else is the authority figure, in a sense, and I am more apt to be myself and not the director or the teacher,” says Ms. Eskridge. “I think it helps with the bonding of the cast because we all depend on each other to create the best show possible; and, that happens when cast trusts each other.”
A production the quality of “Nunsense” takes a lot of hard work. Each of the student actors had to overcome a challenge in preparing for her part. Senior Adriana Navarro who played Sister Mary Hubert, the Mistress of Novices, says, “Although the acting was no problem, it was a challenge singing her character because she sings the harmony. I am used to singing melody in chorus.”
Elena Ruiz, Sister Robert Ann,, says, “I had to work on slowing down when I speak. Having grown up in a typical Mexican family where the people speak really fast, speaking fast came naturally to me. However, that is not a good thing on stage. If you speak fast, the audience won’t understand you. It was good for me to be able to fix that.”
Veronica Padilla, Sister Mary Leo, had to learn to dance ballet. “One thing that was kind of difficult for me was the ballet. I had no experience whatsoever in ballet, and I had to learn in a small amount of time. It was kind of hard for me at the beginning, but now I have gotten better at it,” she says.
And for sophomore Michelle Guzman, Sister
Mary Amnesia, the biggest challenge involved a puppet. “One thing I had to work on the most was becoming my puppet’s character. I literally had to be her and my character, Amnesia, at the same time. It was a big struggle because they are so different,” says Michelle. “Sister Amnesia is sweet and innocent and sort of lost, while the puppet, Sister Mary Annette, has this Brooklyn attitude and says whatever is on her mind, never holding back. So I would say that being two people at the same time was the hardest thing for me to do.”
“Nunsense made me proud to know we have such talent at our high school,” said Angie Rabago, a senior.
Mr. Tom Richards, social studies teacher, enjoyed the show as well. “I thought it was a very professional production, it was outstanding and it was an example of what our students are really capable of doing. The Little Sisters of Hoboken stole my heart.”