By Reece Westfall | Web Managing Editor

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On Saturday Nov. 11, actors and techies from Avon High School will be moving their show from the auditorium stage to Manchester University to compete in their Regional Thespian Conference. The cast is hoping that their section from the play, Eurydice, will take them from Regionals all the way to Internationals. Discover what happens behind the scenes from Eurydice’s leading lady, junior Delaney Butler.

What is the show about?

The show is essentially the modern-day telling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, but told from Eurydice’s point of view. The play starts off with Eurydice entering the underworld after she dies. Orpheus, her husband, is trying to find a way to bring her back to the land of the living from the underworld.

What’s your process for putting the show together and what do you do to prepare?

Putting the show together for me usually just means memorizing and internalizing my lines. What I do for that is basically just writing my lines down over and over until I can say them out loud without having to look at the paper.

 How did you feel when you found out that you got the role of Eurydice?

When I got the role of Eurydice I was honestly surprised. We had a lot of great people try out for this play and I can only imagine the hard decisions Spires had to make when casting. I’m just incredibly thankful that I get to play such a wonderful role with a wonderful cast.

How has the role of Eurydice differed from your previous roles?

Eurydice is very immature. She’s young, dumb, and in love and almost all of the roles I’ve played are mature older women. Eurydice is unique though, because throughout the play her maturity level grows.

What has been your highlight from the show?

The highlight from the show for me has been being able to play a different character than I usually do. I’m usually cast in much more mature roles than Eurydice and I love feeling like I’m growing as an actress when I play different types of roles.

What sets this play apart from others put on by the theatre program over the years?

This play is wildly different from a lot of things that Avon has done. Eurydice is a very artsy fartsy kind of show, and there’s not much dialogue. It’s appeal is largely visual, and is far from surface level in the message behind it.

When is the competition and what usually happens there?

The competition is at Manchester university this year, but it changes from year to year. We’re competing against three other schools and the top two will move on to state. You can also take a workshop there after all the performances are done, like last year I took one on acting for the screen. It’s pretty cool.

What are some of the rules for the competition?

The judges at the competition will mark us on technical things such as projection, memorization of lines, and all that jazz. They’ll also mark us on the overall effect, like how the audience react to our show.

How long did it take to prepare for the performance?

It took us about two and a half weeks to prepare, but it’s different for every school. I know that one of the schools were competing against has been preparing for this for months now. It all depends on what the director feels is right.

What do people do if they want to come support the cast?

If people want to come support the cast, you can come see the show on November 10th at 6pm for free, or come to Manchester with us to see us perform at the actual competition. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to take the bus with us because registration is already sent in. But they are welcome to take their own ride and come along!