by Mirabai Rickert

This weekend was a huge win for Memorial High School’s Theatre Department. On Friday through this past weekend, students who have been rehearsing for these shows since September finally got to show off their hard work and shed light on important issues through performance.

And wow, did they deliver.

Two plays were shown this fall at Memorial, The Amazing Lemonade Girl, by James DeVita, the cast of which I had the pleasure of being a part of (more on that show in another Talon review;) and Fidget, by Bradley Hayward, which I got to see a run of right before my performance of The Amazing Lemonade Girl. Both performances took place on several show choir risers set up in the North Commons, to allow for lemonade to be sold and fidgets to be made 30 minutes before each showing in the adjacent cafeteria.

Fidget follows the story of young students with a range of mental health conditions, from ADHD and gender dysphoria, to anxiety, depression, and autism spectrum disorder. The fast-paced play shows audiences what it’s like to be one of those kids, and talks about the things many adults don’t even know how to face in a way that’s approachable for all audiences.

The sixteen-person cast took on a huge task given the double ( and even triple) -cast parts. Many of the student actors had quick costume changes, and the play’s constant motion added to the chaos that many of the main characters battled with internally.

Student director and Senior Lilah Staupe, with whom I worked to help costume the show, was up to the challenge of putting on such a whimsical and non-linear show. 

Previous conversations with Staupe had shown her interest in directing Fidget due to its subject matter. While statistics of depression and anxiety rates are constantly being shoved into the faces of high school students, neurodivergence and associated struggles in kids and teens are not truly represented or taken seriously in today’s media. Theatre and other forms of media are important for really illustrating to people what’s going on in the lives of others, creating a deeper understanding than just talking about it.

Several notable student actors were Seniors Archie Barile, Keith Gilles, and Sam Halseth. Barile played Aiden, a person who is silent for most of their time on stage, representing the extreme fear of speaking that can come with having anxiety. Their physical acting of discomfort was palpable while their inner monologue, Voice, played by sophomore Orion Johnson, questioned them and their ability to speak.

Gilles and Halseth also did a phenomenal job of bringing energy to their characters. We were in for a treat when Gilles, who played energetic and passionate Devin, began zipping around the stage, delivering a fast-paced and emphatic report during his science class. Halseth, who was cast as both hockey player Carson and Doll, perfectly showed the frustration a person feels when always being left out of things. Bravo to all these actors.

Shout out to the tech crew, who had their hands full with cues to switch the lights from red to blue to purple back to blue to green to… you get the idea, and every transition which was backed by a different musical arrangement- varying from concerto to creepy. 

The standout moment for kudos was in their use of volume, and how well they coordinated it. Many of the scenes in Fidget involve everyone, or almost everyone, saying the same words at the same time. During the opening scene, the cast’s collective “HOLD STILL!” brought attention to how society often pressures those who can’t sit still to do so, the threat of non-conformity always near. 

For such a complex topic, the actors who did such a good job bringing to life the stories of these students. Documentary theatre, a type of performing arts that involves activism, is especially crucial for high schoolers to be a part of, since it gives a sense of purpose to the work acting, directing, and running tech requires.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in Fidget, whether as an actor, costumer, director, usher, teacher, or volunteer. You are the ones who make theatre possible. Working with you and seeing your hard work come together was awesome- I can’t wait to see what we do next!