About the Play

Hi-Mount School is in crisis!  Mr. Humphrey, the school janitor suddenly stopped showing up for work, leaving Drama Teacher Ms. McGery to take his place.  Beloved Lunch Lady Linda has also disappeared without a trace, and there’s a mysterious wallet with some disturbing notes found in Custodia!

When Drama Club members (and amateur sleuths) Foster and Beth have to bring the dead classroom goldfish down to Custodia -- a mysterious area of school where janitors roam and rumors abound -- they get more than they bargained for when they take up the case!  Enlisting the help of their fellow Drama Club members, while trying to hold the meddlesome reporters with the student newspaper at bay, Foster and Beth try to solve the greatest mystery of them all: The Mystery of Custodia!

A Note from the Director

With the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, live theater came to an abrupt halt. Performing on a stage was no longer considered safe, and neither was being part of an audience. But it wasn’t long before theater found a place to practice their craft — at least in the short term. the internet! Indeed, staging plays for folks out there in the ether is no substitute for the live experience. But it’s a workable strategy for dealing with a crisis that many assumed would be under control by last summer. By now, it was thought, things could gradually — and safely — get back to normal, Only it didn’t turn out that way. Live theater is uniquely tested by the virus, one reason it will be among the last sectors to return to normal. Props and costumes are usually touched by dozens each night, backstage areas are small and shared, and audiences are usually packed into seats. New ways are needed.

So I started my search in June to find a play for these unique circumstances and happily found that writers were indeed starting to write shows to be performed via the internet! When Mrs. Currier contacted me about this years show I had found several shows that we could do online. I know how difficult it was for everyone to come to terms with doing a show online but many students have adjusted and used this process to learn a new art form…A Zoomsical! The cast was mailed, hand-delivered or found on their own props, costumes and all were sent green screens. They rehearsed via Zoom. “We’re theater makers, we’re creators, ”We should be able to figure out how to create something.”

The most challenging aspect for me was not being there in person. It’s so much harder to get ideas across or to give feedback through a tiny screen [via Zoom]. I’m someone who likes to be up on their feet, moving around, using my hands and body to help get ideas across and that was something that just couldn’t be done anymore, so it was a great learning experience to have to adjust to this new format. It’s also just so much harder to stay motivated when you’re not physically working in the space or with other people directly.

Virtual live musical performances, on the other hand, can be extremely difficult through regular video conferencing tools because of the time lag that can occur through the technology.

So, actors filmed their scenes individually on green screens. Lisa and I took photos so we could incorporate the school into the show. Individually filming at home, putting up green screens, finding lighting, space to film as well as costumes, props and learning lines was complicated. Because [the actors] were filming in their own spaces. Making it seem like they were talking to one another person was weird at first. Before every scene, I had to tell each actor where they were relative to everyone else, so when they talked to someone they could look to where that person was supposed to be. And, because I wasn’t there to actually see it [in person], there was a lot of stopping and starting. That was all very new and different. On the flip side, there was still a lot that was the same with directing any show, such as line notes, what the intention of a moment might be, or talking through character if something isn’t sitting right. To the actors’ [credit], they took it all in stride and were wonderful!

I want to thank all the parents for their patience as we navigated this new way of doing theater. It wasn’t easy but I hope you will be pleased with the results. I am always looking for the silver lining and zoom will allow many more people who do not live close by to see the performance.

So much hard work from so many different people has gone into this show, so I’m excited that it’s finally going to be seen and everyone’s work will be rewarded.

Kim Saunders
Director