On Jan. 23-25, East Theatre performed their winter play, Sense and Sensibility. Each night at 7 pm, the cast, as well as the crew, put their all into their performances.

The play, created by Kate Hamill, is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel of the same name. It is set in the late 18th century, and takes place in southern England. The play revolves around the Dashwoods, who lost their wealth and are forced to move out of their mansion and into a cottage shortly after their father’s death.

The play revolved around romance, tragedy, and class issues. What happens when you suddenly lose all your money in a capitalist society? Can you still find love? The play aimed to answer these questions, that yes, love perseveres all. It gave the audience a unique perspective, seeing a scenario that could happen today play out hundreds of years ago.

Mrs. Kathleen Belovsky, the director of the play, explained why she chose to do this piece.

“My mom was a huge fan of Jane Austen, so she was alive and well in our home,” Belovsky said. “Jane Austen has had such an impact on me as a reader, and I knew it would be a good challenge for the kids.”

The play proved to be a necessary change in direction; the cast was mostly women, both in main and side roles. This included the Gossips, who played the role of the narrators, spreading the word about the Dashwoods across town.

Sophomore Ereni Rossi, who played one of these many Gossips, reflected on the three performances.

“I think the performances went really well,” Rossi said. “It’s always great to see the hard work of all the actors and tech crew come together.”

Like Rossi mentioned, it’s also important to not forget who lurks behind the scenes – the East Theatre Crew had its own part to play in the show. Not only were there crew members on stage, transitioning from scene to scene, but also people in Tech Crew who made changes in real time.

Ailee Meyers, who was in charge of the cast’s microphones, voiced her opinion on the importance of the crew’s role.

“Without the crew, the show would not be a production,” Meyers said. “We make the magic real, without taking the praise and credit.”

The effort of the cast and crew did not go unnoticed; the play received a lot of positive feedback and compliments from the audience.

Sophomore Avery Ku, who saw Friday night’s performance, enjoyed the love aspect of the play, which is reflected through her favorite scene.

“The scene where Edward confesses his love to Elinor was definitely my favorite,” Ku said. “So much emotion was packed into it, and the acting was beautiful.”

Another audience member, Jillian Vancura, saw the play during the final performance, and commented on the performance overall.

“The costumes and speech really stood out to me during the performance,” Vancura said. “Everyone memorizing such difficult speech so well was something that stood out in my mind during the play.”

East Theatre’s community is strong, which is why they are so dedicated to performing. The point of theatre is to interact with each other in order to create a cohesive, immersive story. Art is supposed to build connections, and thus gives students the drive to do the best they can, whether it be on stage or behind the scenes. 

Senior Sam Greene, who played as Edward, Elinor Dashwood’s will-they-won’t-they love interest, plans to continue being involved in the East Theatre, even after he graduates.

“I am beyond excited to see the current underclassmen fall into more leadership positions and take on more demanding roles, on and off the stage alike,” Greene said. “I am also excited to return to watch those future productions, and recognize those casts for how far they have grown.”

The last production of the school year will be Grease, which is a musical based off of the iconic movie. Auditions will be held February 3rd and 4th in the PAC after school. Information is posted to the East Theatre google classroom, as well as through flyers around the school.

Written by Senior Robbe Witting and Juniors Anabella Kraman and Marley Spaulding. Edited by staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.