By Scott Caslow

The cast of the AHS fall play began blocking on Tuesday, Oct. 4. The entire cast, led by director Terrance Shuman, were given physical instruction for the entire first act.  The subsequent thursday, the second act was blocked.  This year’s production, “The Late Great Me,” features the story of a teenager and her descent into alcoholism.  The play opens on the first Friday of November, with closing night the following day.

According to Shuman, AHS theater tradition dictates that every other year be a drama, and with last year’s production being a comedy, a murder mystery was chosen for this year.  There was an early contract dispute with the original script, and a new play was subsequently chosen. After a weekend of stress and recommendations from his fellow directors, Shuman, the longtime director, chose “The Late Great Me.”
When asked if attending, AHS student Landon Stark said, “I’m really not sure if I’m going or not.”  The play generally has around 200 attendees, with a large percentage being students.  Shuman has stressed the need for a larger audience this year, as this is his final fall production in Atlantic.  Shuman is retiring after the first quarter of this year, after serving almost a decade as an teacher at AHS.

After September’s open auditions for all AHS students, Shuman chose the cast, led by Caroline Trewet as Geri.  The first week of October marked the beginning of blocking rehearsals for the cast, signaling the play is quickly approaching.  The Blocking is especially challenging for Shuman this year, due to the variety of scenes and lack of stage space.  The final scene count is not finalized yet.

Along with Trewet, the lead cast consists of Scott Caslow as Dave Townsend, Tom Stinn as Mr. Peters, Shelby Cooper as Mrs. Peters, and Matt Iekel as Jack.  All actors have four years of experience in the fall productions except for Caslow, who has three.  Each is a senior participating in their very last play.  The minor cast list is still changing, although the principal cast is set.