Written by Ricardo Villafan, Staff Writer
Theatre is something very powerful. It connects so many people together in so many different ways. The cast bonds and become lifelong friends, the audience connects to the cast and the characters, the audience can feel what the characters feel. It’s truly an amazing experience. Theatre teaches life lessons that can guide you on this long voyage through life.
That’s why Indian Trail High School & Academy will show Brilliant Traces by Cindy Lou Johnson. The director of the show, Robert Allen, has a message to anyone who sees the play.
Brilliant Traces is about two people stuck in a house together in Alaska during a blizzard. The woman, Rosannah DeLuce played by Olivia Shreeve, is all in all very broken. She tries to nd something to grasp on to and to make sense of her mess of a life. Rosannah just ran away from her wedding, drove all the way from Arizona to Alaska, and barges into the house of a man named Henry Harry, played by Connor Smith. Henry starts out as kind hearted and caring to Rosannah, but deep inside he is very broken as well. Throughout the show the audience learns about how he got to where he is, why he lives in the middle of nowhere and more. These two people, that just met each other, are talking and sharing their most hurtful memories. And that’s not even scratching the surface.
Bob Allen chose the show Brilliant Traces to compete in the state and international theatre festival. Why would he choose a play with only two people in the cast to compete in such a large event? Because of the message that viewers will get from the show.
“Everybody is going to take their own thing away from the show, but what I’m hoping people realize is that no matter how different we seem on the outside or how together we seem on the outside, once we really start listening to each other, we nd out who other people really are and that we’re really not different from each other,” Allen said.
So all in all, the message being sent through these characters, not just high school students, is people need each other. To talk to, to listen to, it’s what we do. As humans we need other humans to interact with and to love. Love is this binding kind of force that everyone is able to feel. Whether it’s romantic, platonic, whatever, we need it. If we can’t feel love in any way shape or form, then what’s the point of being called human?
Brilliant Traces is going to be shown on Fri- day, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7:30pm at Indian Trail High School and Academy. The show should definitely be worth the small cost of $5. Hope to see you there. Prepare for a memorable show and maybe some heartfelt tears.