Mystery and intrigue is in the air with BOHS Theatre Arts’ department’s first performance of the year, the Mysterious Murder at Manchester Manor, which debuts tonight at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.
The play involves two teenage detectives, Nancy Waters and Prudence Peterson, whose car breaks down, leaving them to seek help at the mysterious Manchester residence. There, they discover the body of Oliver Manchester. An investigation ensues.
Play Production, comprised of students from the Advanced Drama class, began preparation for the play in August. Behind-the-scenes work included auditions for its 22-member cast, memorization for playwright Richard Gremel’s lines, and the construction of props (a rifle, a fake dead body double, a hand-painted portrait of Oliver J. Manchester), and a set featuring a house of mystery (and murder).
As the first production of the year, Play Pro performers, like Skyler Sandrock (’26), are eager to share their artistry on stage.
“I’m excited for all the comedic moments in the show,” Sandrock said. As the lead role of Prudence Peterson, Sandrock often breaks the “fourth wall,” directly engaging the audience with witty jokes.
For Sonora Saunders (‘25), having the chance to perform on stage fuels her excitement, and gratitude, towards theater. “I have fun playing ‘make-believe’ while I’m still a kid,” Saunders said.
In the weeks leading up to the show, Play Pro performers participated in “memorization checks” led by Kim Ofcacek, drama teacher, where they were tasked with reciting their lines without referencing any notes or scripts.
Izabella Buckley (‘26), starring as Nancy Waters, said she has been “running lines almost every night” to prepare for tonight’s show.
Cast members collaborated during class to ensure that each character’s behavior and backstory were in alignment and consistent. They also read through their lines to work on inflection and to block their scenes.
Besides collaborative work, performers were given individual writing assignments which included their role’s backstory and how they interacted with the other characters. Actors also experimented with various strategies to enhance their performance and help build their character’s personality and behavior.
Sandrock expressed delight at playing Nancy because of the opportunity to perform with close friend and fellow performer Buckley. This helped the two “connect more with the characters” while making the “relationship in the show more realistic.”
Buckley expressed how her “love for mystery novels and movies” allowed her to better understand her character’s motivations.
“Building off of each character and scene to give [the performers] more dimension has been my favorite part,” said Max Ramirez (‘25). “Getting to implement my own ideas into a scene to make it more dynamic, and seeing how small changes can make everything feel more natural, has been so rewarding.”
“To prepare, I’ve given [Carolyn Manchester] a country accent to add a more charm and depth to her,” Colleen Lee (‘25) said. The veteran actor would “listen to country songs and look up YouTube tutorials” to learn how to develop an accent and research how her character, a traditional housewife, would behave.
Kathryn Sim (‘25), playing Eleanor Manchester, practiced “walking around the house with [her] shoulders stretched comically behind [her]” to add more depth to her role.
The play contains scenes where characters engage in physically demanding action. Student director Ramirez said by practicing countless times they’ve “been able to make those scenes look natural while ensuring no one is harmed.”
Ramirez said “there are multiple sequences that involve different characters to cover up a murder” by “hiding dead bodies or making them appear ‘less dead’” many times throughout the play, which involves copious amounts of lifting.
In addition to the effort of the cast to perfect their roles, many groups come together to coordinate the behind-the-scenes work of a drama show.
Assembling the set requires a large amount of effort. Annie Strobel (‘19), set designer and constructor, and Ofcacek, collaborated to design the visuals in accordance to the Gremel’s description. Following the design’s approval, tech students were responsible for painting and building the set, which includes a variety of furniture, a fireplace, and an original painting created by a cast member.
Bella Meza (‘28), Color Guard member, is using her performance rifle covered in brown and black tape as a prop. Another cast member carefully hand-painted a self portrait of Oliver J. Manchester, which rests upon the set’s fireplace mantle. To create the fake dead body double, several tech crew members utilized towels and a foam head to replicate the body on stage for the entirety of Act Two.
Tech crew’s behind-the-scenes work also involved programming the lighting and audio. Madelyn Brewer (‘26), lead tech, uses sound cues to enliven the performance. Zoe Kinne (‘24), Play Pro’s technical director, implements sound effects of thunder and lightning as two of the main cues throughout the eerie-atmosphered performance.
According to Ramirez, the development of the set was a “tedious process” that not only involved building the main structure, “but also placing the furniture, hanging paintings on the wall, decorating, and spiking all of it.” (“Spiking” is when tech crew uses tape or paint to mark the positions of props or furniture on stage.)
Brewer said, “we feel very proud after finishing the set” as they had worked on perfecting each setting for two weeks.
Sim encourages students who aspire to become more involved in theater to “just do it,” as “the community is so nice, and it’s always fun to have a class where you don’t have to sit at a desk and stare at a projector.” She added, “You’ll make so many friends, and feel so rewarded after you finish a production.”
Tickets for the show, which runs today and tomorrow at 7 p.m., are available for sale at the Activities Office window or from a cast member for $10. Purchasing tickets at the door is $12.
