The Abraham Lincoln High School Drama Department is giving audience members a look back at life during the COVID-19 pandemic this weekend with its production, “Hindsight 2020.”
The show opened Thursday and will be presented again at 7 p.m. today (Friday) and Saturday at the school auditorium.
The presentation is a series of short sketches and monologues that represent the events and feelings of the “crazy year that was 2020,” drama Coach Steve Mandelko said. The production has been very much student-driven, he said.
“While I proposed the concept/theme, the students developed and wrote the scenes that are performed,” he said. “Technical theatre students designed the sets, sound and lighting for the plays as well. It’s been a lot of fun.”
The skits recall the hoarding of certain essential products early in the pandemic, the isolation and sometimes loneliness or boredom of being stuck at home, fear of the coronavirus and other aspects of the situation, Mandelko said.
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“Some of the pandemic-related works we have are, ‘War of the Store,’ which parodies a fight over toilet paper when it was in short supply,” he said. “Another example would be the scene, ‘Friends,’ in which high-schoolers learn to deal with the isolation of quarantine.”
Scenes and the students involved are as follows:
• “Among Us,” by Sidnie Clark and Kadance Burhenne, starring Sidnie Clark, Kolby Cleaver, Ethan Heizer, Kadance Burhenne and Cole Schroeder
• “People Are Dying,” written and performed by Chrys Smith
• “Friends,” by Sidnie Clark and Kadance Burhenne, starring Sidnie Clark, Adam Rief, Camille Anderson, RJ Strong, Sophia Freking, Brook Leichtner, Brooklyn Sorensen and Mr. Mandelko
• “Covered & Afraid,” by Kadance Burhenne, starring Emily Newby, Kadance Burhenne, Jackson Forth, Adam Rief, Brooklyn Sorensen and Lydia Cooper
• “The Smartphone Hour,” adapted by Lydia Cooper and starring Sophia Freking, Chrys Smith, Kadance Burhenne, Cole Schroeder, Sidnie Clark, Kolby Cleaver, Lydia Cooper, Jackson Forth, Aurora Neuharth and Emily Newby
• “Quarantine Suffocation,” by Chrys Smith, starting Kolby Cleaver
• “War of the Store,” by Sophia Freking and Lydia Cooper, starring RJ Strong, Lydia Cooper, Ethan Heizer, Sophia Freking, Chrys Smith, Cole Schroeder, Aurora Neuharth, Nathan Sheehan, Sidnie Clark, Jackson Forth, Brooklyn Sorensen, Kolby Cleaver and Brook Leichtner
• “Jeopardy?,” by Emily Newby, starring Jackson Forth, Emily Newby, Nathan Sheehan, Camille Anderson and Brook Leichtner
• “The Other Side of COVID,” adapted by Chrys Smith and Kolby Cleaver, starring RJ Strong, Chrys Smith and Kolby Cleaver
Technical Crew: Director, Steve Mandelko; assistant directors, Chrys Smith and Kadance Burhenne; stage manager, Emma Edie; set/run crew, Ollie Brown, Eric Dofner, Ania Gawronski, Jasper Hardiman and Tayden Smith
Lighting Design and Board Operator, Zach Klopper; spotlight operators, Robbie Loudon and Allison Walker; sound design and board operator, Josie Rosenquist
Set Design and Construction, Jayson Allan, Mackenzie Banks, Ollie Brown, Kadance Burhenne, Kolby Cleaver, Eric Dofner, Emma Edie, Ania Gawronski, Jasper Hardiman, Zachary Klopper, Alexa Lodge, Robbie Loudon, Aidan Murphy, Joey Podraza, Josie Rosenquist and Allison Walker; poster and program design, Chrys Smith
Admission is free for students and staff. A $5 donation is suggested for other adults.