Pine Ridge High School Players present comedy

Play features zany world of high-school teacher

By Sally Dakin
SPECIAL TO THE BEACON

posted Mar 10, 2010 - 8:01:03pm

Figments is a rare breed of comedy, combining romance, farce, satire, and a large measure of imagination — as in figments of the imagination. Author Billy St. John started out life as a high-school-drama teacher, which would explain the zany nature of his work! With more than 30 plays now in print and productions all around the world, his work appeals to students and adults alike. The Pine Ridge High School Players are delighted to bring Figments, perhaps one of his more autobiographical pieces, to life March 18, 19 and 20.

The lead character, Rick Jacobs, is a playwright with a bad case of writer’s block. His life begins to spin out of control when the figments of his overactive imagination take center stage.

The play opens with four of those figments playing out a scene from his most recent murder mystery. Enter Loni, the proverbial girl-next-door and the object of Rick’s secret crush. She confides in Rick, much to his discomfort, about the man she is dating. Then Mama arrives to tighten the apron strings she has metaphorically wound around her only son.

As each “real” person arrives on the scene, the room fills up with Rick’s imaginary alternatives, and reality collides with fiction. Rick’s every mood, whim and angst is mirrored in the figments. Rick has one too many, so do the characters in his play. He limps through a major hangover, and they do too. Even his dead papa, in reality reduced to ashes in a burial urn, is not spared the indignity of appearing in Rick’s imagination — dressed in an oversized urn! If you've ever wondered what goes through a playwright's mind, this farcical comedy reveals all — hilariously.

Joelle Gossman, who plays the real love interest, said, “Even the rehearsals are a riot. There is so much going on at the same time, the scenes never play the same way twice. We keep finding new humor in every moment.”

Derek McKinley, the lead, added, “The whole play is one big adrenaline rush.”

Senior and club president Anjelica Castro said, “I’m delighted we are presenting the uproarious comedy Figments for my final show at Pine Ridge. I know we will make the audience burst with laughter and leave them with a warm feeling in their bellies, just like the one I feel right before I step onstage!”

The drama troupe at Pine Ridge has the right to be proud of its work. This year, the troupe began the season with a heartfelt production of Flowers for Algernon, and their one-act play Blues took one of the coveted Critic’s Choice awards, and will be presented at the International Thespian State Festival along with 10 other superior entries.

You can join in the fun and at the same time help the Pine Ridge drama team fund their upcoming trip to the state festival. Tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for students. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 18, Friday, March 19, and Saturday, March 20.

For more information, call 407-688-9500, ext. 43619.

— info@beacononlinenews.com

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