Opening shortly after this year’s EA Day, the fall play Moby Dick will premiere on Friday, November 20th. Moby Dick describes the story of Ishmael, a young sailor on the whaling ship Pequod, led by Captain Ahab, who is hunting the white whale, Moby Dick. The story combines exciting adventure with philosophic and symbolic reflections on obsession. The performing arts department brings out these themes through adaptation, stage design, and production. Students have been working towards a thrilling opening night.
Director and Performing Arts Chair Mr. Darren Hengst will debut his very own adaptation of Melville’s famous novel. Mr. Hengst wrote his own version after reading other adaptations. His, completed over the summer, preserves what he felt was the most important theme in Moby Dick.
“There are moments in our lives where we are so focused on one thing that we lose sight of what is most important.”
MR. DARREN HENGST
“There are moments in our lives where we are so focused on one thing that we lose sight of what is most important,” Mr. Hengst said. “Ahab does everything for [the whale] and just loses his sight of everything else in his life.”
Alongside the guidance of Mr. Hengst, student-actors have been working to perfect their craft. Rehearsals run four days a week, each lasting two hours.
Fifth Former Harry Hengst, who plays Ahab, found the text surprisingly hard to learn.
“Memorizing lines is really hard, because we have a lot of long monologues and just a lot of things to remember,” Hengst said.
Many students found the process of learning long scripts difficult. Actors also face physical challenges throughout the production.
“I have a peg leg in the show—a fake leg I have to walk with. My leg is fully stiff, and I have to [walk with] a little bit of a hunch,” Hengst said. “Walking differently is really weird. I also have to walk with a cane. It’s just a big adjustment.”
Alongside the cast and director, many other behind-the-scenes individuals work to make the play a success. For each specific scene, the stage crew figures out the best way to make it come to life.
“We have someone who is our costume designer, then we have someone on microphones, we have someone who designed the lights, and I mean, that process is a ton of work,” Mr. Hengst said.
When staging scenes, Mr. Hengst tries to simplify the situation as much as possible and focus on the people, not the set. He relies on the ensemble to bring feeling and context.
“What we do is we basically ask the audience to imagine things as well,” Mr. Hengst said. “The actors drive this show. So, the ensemble is creating different scenes. It’s like very little furniture, very little set.”
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