Since the beginning of the school year, the Kimball Union Academy theater department has worked tirelessly on devising and producing this year’s fall play, The Incident. The plot has largely been kept a secret, and tonight, the show will finally open its doors, allowing the KUA and Plainfield community to get a glimpse of what the cast and crew have been working on. While describing the show, KUA theater veteran Gavin '18 simply answers, “[the audience] can expect an unpredictable environment.” Trevor '18 says the plot of the play is best described as “divisive elusiveness.” 

For the student actors involved, the impact of the show goes beyond production night. Anna '19 reflects on her biggest struggle throughout the course of the show: “being loud! It’s hard to play a quiet character and still project.” Anna says she has made personal gains through taking part in the show: “I feel more confident in my acting choices.” 

Garrett '18 says, “I didn’t meet [the deviser] Barb at the workshop last spring, so even though I participated in The Amish Project last year, I didn’t know what to expect.” He hopes that for the newcomers to theater, the experience can be as positive as it was for him last year: “I had to come back for more!” 

Molly '18, having her theatrical debut with this production, says that the show as a whole “is not what i expected! The amount of time required was demanding, and the process was draining. Rehearsals are long and go past the time I like to go to bed.”  

Maddy '20, assistant stage manager, says, “I’ve managed plays before, but this is much bigger.” Jacques says that being assistant stage manager to Abby '17 has been an amazing learning experience. “I didn’t realize that I would spend over 100 hours in this building this week alone,” Maddy says. “My friends all think I’m exaggerating when I say I’m here until midnight!”

There is no doubt that putting on this show has taken a huge amount of responsibility from both the cast and crew. “My responsibilities were a bit of everything,” Maddy explains, “like helping with sets, organizing costumes, I even spent hours standing in lights during the cueing process.” Cueing is quite a long process in and of itself, where a small group of people, usually deviser Barbara Pitts McAdam, director David Weidman, technical director Stephen Rogers, stage managers Abby and Maddy and occasionally a small group of additional crew members and/or actors hang the lights, run the cords to the lights, plug everything in, make sure all of the lights are working, moving all of the lights, and finally setting the 70+ cues. Sound is also significant during this show. Gavin says “we use a lot of sound cues to create transition.” Trevor says, “The sounds differ depending on where you are,” so for anyone who plans on attending the show more than once, be sure to sit in two different places!

The Incident will be performed in the round, which Trevor speculates makes the show a more intimate experience. Weidman says, “being in the round is more powerful,” especially during the emotional scenes. The set was a huge feat, and thanks to Rogers and his stagecraft classes, as well as the crew of the show, the set is safe and sturdy. 

Something the show also focuses on from a technical standpoint is differing levels. When looking in from a seat in the house, which is actually a few rows of folding chairs set up as close to the stage as possible, there is a central octagon and four corner platforms. These platforms act as a sort of pedestal. Trevor says, “the idea was to emphasize importance, we elevate people,” a technique commonly used in visual art.

The Incident is extremely well done – the opening is sure to leave the audience with a smile on their faces! The careful character development and joyous festivities lead into a chilling and powerful conclusion; the audience will laugh hysterically and perhaps even shed a few tears. Tickets are free but seats should be reserved ahead of time. One thing is for sure – it’s definitely going to be a spectacle.