Coming this weekend, NorTHeatre will be performing “Aria Da Capo” as its annual fall play. Unlike previous productions, this play will only be one act long. Another one-act play, “This is a Test,” will also be performed alongside it. However, “This is a Test” is a comedy, and not a tragedy. It will be more difficult for the students to deliver the message to the audience than it would be if they had produced a multiple act play.

Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote “Aria Da Capo” in 1920 as an anti-war statement. The play displays a high artistic value, and the only changes the drama club made from the original were visual.

There are five different characters, played by eight different students, and Suzanne Mancini, a professional artist, created and designed the costumes. The characters Pierrot and Columbine are displayed using a 17th century Italian tradition of “commedia dell’arte” using masks. The characters of the two shepherds are a symbol of man’s greed. Cothurnus, the Masque of Tragedy, will be a nine-foot tall puppet based on the traditonal Japanese style of Bunraku.

“I play part of the ‘grand evil-overlord/manipulator’ and lead the characters to tragedy”, said junior Rachel Johnson, who helps perform as Cothurnus. “This play puts into perspective how ridiculous war and hatred are; even though it was written in 1920, its message still applies today.”

The premiere of “Aria da Capo” will be the weekend before Thanksgiving: Friday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 23. The shows on Friday and Saturday are at 7 p.m., and 1 p.m. on Sunday.  Tickets are $7 each, 2 for $12, or 4 for $20.

There is one freshman starring in “Aria da Capo”, with the rest of the cast mainly upperclassmen. Freshman Megan Ramos will be playing the right hand of Cothurnus, and Senior Anna Pickard will be playing the left hand. Junior Justin Cabot Miller will be playing the spine of Cothurnus, and Rachel Johnson will be the voice. Seniors Natalie Toland will be playing Pierrot, and senior Robyn Bjorn will be playing Columbine. Senior Rachel Douglas will be playing Thyrsis, and senior Abby Dufresne will be playing Corydon. Senior Emily Auger is the stage manager.

Students are encouraged to participate in the drama program through the theater club at NK has well as enroll in the three drama classes offered. NK also offers a professional, international theatre troupe: troupe 6945, which competes in international competitions.

Director Robert Shaffer said students should join the drama program because “[a]ny time you engage with theater, you engage with high level thinking skills that allow you to use your brain at a fuller capacity.” Shaffer had a very moving experience of meeting the original actor of Columbine in Provincetown, MA. The actor watched his performance of “Aria da Capo” in which he played Pierrot. Shaffer challenges his students with college-level shows to enhance their thinking skills. He teaches them how to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize to function more intelligently and reach their artistic potential. Shaffer has been involved with theater his entire life, and says students should go see “Aria da Capo” to raise their consciousness.