The Mycenaean

Every year, traveling scenes go around to different classes to perform in front of them. Usually, there’s about one or two scenes that come to a class. In Mr. Broer’s class, we didn’t have just a few to watch– we had SIX traveling scenes perform for us.

These included a scene from Antigone, Macbeth, A Raisin in the Sun, To Kill A Mockingbird and A Doll’s House.

The first scene we saw was one from Antigone. In the scene, she was trying to get her sister to help her with a proper burial for her brother, Polynices. She refuses, however, because he was a traitor to Thebes and the law doesn’t let them mourn for him. Antigone then begs her sister to help her and then the scene ends.

The Sydney Gerber and Kerri Aikens, who played these characters, did a very good job in conveying their emotion to the audience. They really seemed like they embraced their characters.

Another scene that we saw was from A Raisin in the Sun. This was about a black family struggling financially in the 1950s. In the specific scene we saw, from act 1 scene 1, a check was coming in the mail and the whole family was arguing about how it would be spent.

“We performed this scene about 22 times throughout the day,” said Alexis Byrd, who played Banetha in this play. “After practicing so much and performing the play in class, I wasn’t as nervous when we went around to the classes.”

Canterbury Tales was one of the most memorable scenes that we saw, probably because it was somewhat risque. The story begins with a knight who rapes a girl and is sentenced to death. He was told that if he found what women loved the best, he would be set free. So he goes to the Old Woman, and she offers to tell him ‘the secret’ in exchange for marrying her. He resists, but eventually ends up giving in and letting the old woman take charge. In reality, this is what all women want– so she turns beautiful, and they have their… honeymoon.

The knight was played by Arion Quierly and the Old Woman was played by Bella Candelaria. Throughout the day, they performed this scene about eleven times.

When asked what people’s reactions were to Arion’s risky gestures, I was told that they were “either laughing hysterically, or making faces like they were disgusted. Mrs. Catania just told him to make it funny, and he came up with the plan on his own,” said Candelaria.

Despite the mixed reactions, their scene was overall a success. “It really got people talking, which was what we wanted,” she said.

Another scene that was performed was a scene from To Kill A Mockingbird, where Atticus Finch had to shoot and kill a rabid dog. There was also a very dramatic scene from Romeo and Juliet, and a tense scene from A Doll’s House.

“I always love when the traveling scenes come along,” said Brandon Baker, a senior. “I thought this year’s performances were really great, and that’s something I’m going to miss next year.”

Overall, these scenes were well done and very fun to watch. Mrs. Catania’s theatre classes always put on a great show, and this year was no different.