Urinetown: The Tight-Knit Skyline Community Behind The Scenes

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Gabriel Hill (’23)

Whether it be a movie, tv show, or play, we all have heard or seen some form of theatre. Stories are brought to life by people seen and unseen. When a student is interested in Skyline theatre and wants to join, the community is extremely accepting and hardworking. Working in theatre creates healthy relationships and habits, especially when it comes to getting things done and collaborating.

 

“The actors and tech people, we have to have good chemistry,” Isaac Acosta (‘24) states. “We have to have good communication, ‘cause we rely on each other.” 

 

The community of theatre is extremely important to the making of each show. For the show to genuinely get its message across to the audience, the actors and crew need to be in constant cooperation and contact.

 

“I just really love Skyline theatre people,” Ember Funk (‘24) says happily.

 

From my own experience with Skyline theatre, it’s an extremely warm and accepting community. When students come to join for the first time, no matter their grade or age, Skyline theatre is extraordinarily open and welcoming.

 

“One of my friends was like, ‘hey let’s do theatre,’ and I was like ‘sure,’” Avni Gupta (‘24) explains. “And that’s kinda just how I ended up here.” 

 

“We have fun, during rehearsals, on stage. We joke around, have conversations,” Acosta says. “The community itself is very open and you can talk to people without being judged. You’re like friends, but also like family.”

 

Skyline Theatre’s most recent work was a musical called Urinetown which explores topics such as capitalism, bureaucracy, and the injustice in the legal system. Actors and techies have to have a good understanding of the story and characters they are trying to portray.

 

“We have artists drawing posters and designs; we have builders constructing sets to bring visions to life,” says Funk.  “Even people who can’t draw, like myself, who just know a lot about the human form and have more tactile abilities… For the show, Urinetown, we’ve been pulling more drab colors for some characters and working with our actors’ measurements and double-checking them and making it pretty.”

 

Skyline Theatre worked hard to create the best show for everyone to thoroughly enjoy.  And the audience did indeed enjoy it: on opening night, the cast and crew performed for over 350 people.  With rave reviews after an opening weekend, the second weekend was even more of a success, with both Friday and Saturday performances each having nearly 300 people in the audience.

 

“It was a fantastic show overall and I cannot believe it’s over,” commented Gabriel Hill (‘23) on closing night. “It’s kinda bittersweet to work so hard on a show only for it to end in what seems like a matter of seconds.”