Peshtigo High School Drama Club presents “Same Room, Different Story”

PESHTIGO – On Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 the recently reunited Peshtigo High School Drama Club will be gracing the stage with performances of “Same Room, Different Story.”

Andrea Rosenow, middle and high school art teacher, said that bringing back the Drama Club was an effort driven by students looking for more creative ways to express themselves.

“I had a little bit of help from other teachers, but a lot of the students stepped up in leadership roles and made [the club] happen,” Rosenow stated.
Not only did students step up into acting roles, but they also have been working as crew, manager and tech roles, including controlling sound and lighting.

Eva Andrews, a junior, joined the Drama Club to work in lighting production behind-the-scenes. She shared that she was inspired to take on the role by watching an older friend who trained her, and in turn Andrews is training the next technician.

Friendships outside of the club have drawn many members in, sophomore Isabel Oksa said.

Though Oksa joined the club this year, she stated that “I helped my friends out last year by supporting them and going to the shows.”

She continued, “I saw that my friends liked it and I wanted to get out there more by trying to perform on stage in front of people.”

The play that Oksa and nearly 20 other students have been spending evenings and weekends putting together is “Same Room, Different Story,” a vignette style piece, written by playwright Claire Broome.

Rosenow explained “It is a vignette style play, so every scene is kind of its own unique story, but it all takes place in the same bedroom. The whole premise of the play is that a bedroom is a teenagers’ safe haven. It’s a place where they can be themselves, tell secrets, be safe and hide from the world. It’s a very unique play.”

With so many different stories being woven together, the play will bring a variety of emotions to the audience.

Junior Isabelle “Izzy” Valitchka spoke on the two scenes she is in.

“One of [the scenes] is kind of a more comedic scene and the other is more of a sad scene. I’m more of a comedic actor, but Rosenow wanted me to be in a sad scene to broaden my horizons,” Valitchka said.

She added that “It’s a big change from what I’m used to.”

Rosenow agreed, saying “It’s a really great play for families…there’s some really funny moments, some heartwarming moments and some very serious moments that talk about hard hitting issues like kids running away from home, dealing with divorced parents and a lot more.”

In addition to bringing together different styles and emotions, a vignette play like “Same Room, Different Story” also allows for many students to participate.
The Drama Club includes student actors Daphne Wellner, Isabel Oksa, Daniel Williquette, Chloe Liegeois, Trent Van De Walle, Emily Splingaire, Carlie Denowski, Isabelle Valitchka, Madysen St. Peter, Faith Frederiksen, Gwen Farell, Zetta Bennett, Aly Monnette, Trinity Cummings and Liah Furlong, all of whom will be performing.

Filling out the important behind-the-scenes roles are Stage Manager Laurana Mines, Assistant Stage Manager and Stage Crew Hadley Johnson, Lights Technician Eva Andrews and Sound Technicians Jordyn Walters and Desarae Castor.

As the nights of practice come to an end and the stressful tech-week begins, students are working on perfecting their lines, hitting cues and supporting each other the whole way through.

Rosenow, looking forward to the second play she has directed with the Drama Club, said “There’s some heavy hitting scenes and I think the kids are excited to put that in front of an audience. They’re ready to put all of our hard work to good use.”

The Peshtigo High School Drama Club will perform “Same Room, Different Story” at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 21 as well as 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 22. All performances will take place in the Peshtigo Elementary Learning Center gym and run with an intermission. Admission is free to the public.