Leesville performing Vacancy in Paradise as fall play

For the past few weeks, the arts department at Leesville has been preparing for their upcoming fall play Vacancy in Paradise. The actors and work crews spend hours after school preparing and perfecting every detail in order to perform their best.

In Vacancy in Paradise, Wally, a publicity agent, stops at a run-down Paradise Glen. There he sees Ellen Danby and embarks on a mission to get the place up and running successfully again. In previous years, Paradise Glen hosted weddings, which inspires Wally to use romance as an advertisement strategy. His efforts to get people to marry, however, prove disastrous in this comedic drama.

Shelby Reilly, senior, landed the role of Ellen Danby, one of the main characters of the play. “I decided to audition because I love acting, and I hope to major in theatre [in college]. I spend about four hours every day rehearsing,” said Reilly.

Although Reilly has had plenty of experience acting, she still gets nervous before every show. “I always get nervous, not stage fright. I feel as though if you don’t get nervous you don’t care enough. [My] advice on acting: just let it happen! The more you let go and really become the character the more fun and believable it is,” said Reilly.

Behind the scenes, the work crews have been dedicating their time to making sure everything is perfect and ready to go for opening night.

“As crew head, I run meetings and choose a running crew. I am also a designer to create hairstyles for every actor and also shop for all the materials I need. I have been designing hairstyles and preparing all the products and pieces I’ll need,” said Kellie Burgess, senior. The hair crew meets once a week to discuss and prepare all the hairstyles needed for each character in the play.

The opening night of the fall play is scheduled for Thursday, November 6, and performances will continue the following Friday and Saturday.

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