Students with the Hampden Academy Drama Department have embraced a new challenge over the past couple months. In comparison to the lighthearted productions put on in the past by the department, their latest performance strays far from the familiar comedic path, with their fall production of Welcome to the Monkey House.

In short, Welcome to the Monkey House is a play within a play. It tells the stories of a community theatre company putting on different productions: four staged versions of various stories by Kurt Vonnegut. While the company tackles their productions of “Harrison Bergeron,” “Who Are We This Time,” “The Euphio Question,” and “The Kid Nobody Could Handle,” they’re also dealing with their own drama offstage. Directors butt heads and actors fall in love, all within the chaotic environment of the theatre.

Staging a “play within a play” is no easy task. A set resembling a stage had to be constructed among the walls of Hampden Academy’s main stage. Set designer Rob Kissinger, with the help of Hampden Academy’s Introduction to the Performing Arts Center (IPAC) class, did a fantastic job constructing a scene to clarify the boundaries to the audience. 

“There’s a lot of variety in this show. It addresses a lot of relevant societal issues in a lot of ways. Each short story has a different point. It’s not heavy. It’s funny, happy, and sad all at the same time. It’s a really good mix of the emotions,” says Sydnie Phillips, who portrays Sylvia, an aspiring director sought to take over operations at the company.

Following a string of highly successful comedic plays and musicals, including Guys & Dolls, Once in a Lifetime, and Hot Mikado, the concept of a show of the dramatic nature was rather unfamiliar to the student performers. But, through careful examination of each individual scene and story, the students were able to make a connection with the show, which will prove to be very impressive.

“All of these pieces are products of a different time period, as [Vonnegut] wrote the stories in the 50’s, and they were dramatized in the 70’s. But, it was very easy to modernize the show,” says director Jennifer Guare. “Vonnegut saw into the future so well, that the problems he saw in society back then are still true today. This show speaks to a modern cast as well as a modern audience.”

Welcome to the Monkey House will be performed in the Hampden Academy Performing Arts Center on December 1, 2, & 3 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students, with all proceeds benefiting the H.A. Drama Department. Tickets will be available to H.A. staff and students during all lunches throughout the week of the performances, and to the public before and after school hours.

Welcome to the Monkey House is directed by Jennifer Guare, with set design by Rob Kissinger, light design by Andrew Tilley, and sound design by Issac Anderson.

https://www.facebook.com/events/343657679324621/