Malibu High School theatre alums return for “The Great Easter Egg Hunt”
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
When many teens graduate high school, they don’t let the door hit them on the way out, anxious to move on to more worldly adventures. Not the Malibu High School theatre department. This weekend, 13 theatre department graduates return to their roots for a first-ever MHS alumni performance in Ken Jones’ play, “The Great Easter Egg Hunt.”
Mounted by theatre department director and Theatre Lab coordinator Jodi Plaia, the play is a broad comedy about a group of neighbors who assemble in a small Florida town for the ostensibly lighthearted Great Easter Egg Hunt. But the top prize of a golden egg turns out to be so alluring, it brings out a competitive greed that cancels out any family-friendly feeling for the event.
Plaia, who recently finished the run of MHS’s production of “Nine to Five,” plunged immediately into rehearsals with former students who graduated up to eight years ago.
“We had all sort of talked about doing an alumni production for several years now, but it never quite came together,” Plaia said. “Finally one of our 2005 graduates, Marin Hope, tracked down enough former students who were available and told me, ‘Here’s our window.’”
The logistics were daunting. Participants came from far afield (three of them in New York alone), where they were wrapped up in their new lives and careers. Selecting a play that could accommodate more than a dozen young actors was a task in itself. Plaia considered everything from British farce to a crowd-pleasing work by Christopher Durant.
Finally, after reading dozens of plays herself, Plaia presented the group with several choices and they held a mass read-through. “The Great Easter Egg Hunt” was the unanimous choice.
“Revisiting these students as adults, as well as mature actors, was an amazing experience,” Plaia said. “On the first day of rehearsal, seeing these kids come up the driveway was like ‘This Is Your Life.’ There is just a huge feeling of love and camaraderie.”
The feeling of bonhomie was echoed by cast members. Carson Higgins (‘06) attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood after graduation and has launched a busy career. He auditioned to a top 100 spot for “American Idol” and recently completed a short feature film. This month, he begins rehearsals for an international tour of a major American musical (Higgins was hesitant to give the title as the casting has not yet been announced). He said he was tickled to be working with friends he has known since elementary school.
“Some of the kids in this show looked up to my class back then,” Higgins said. “To work with them on the same level now is awesome. It helps that the play is hysterical. This is an ensemble piece and we are all having a really good time.”
The laughs have come at a certain expense. Everyone involved had to juggle professional schedules and sacrifice work time. Marin Hope, who set the wheels in motion and acts as associate producer, lives and works “24/7” in New York City with a casting company. She laughingly called the month spent mounting the production her vacation.
“This has been such an incredible experience,” Hope said. “I never imagined that this cast would end up being so professional and fun. The play is very character-driven and requires really bright, substantial actors. And everyone is rising to the occasion.”
In an effort to cover production costs, Plaia launched a Kickstarter campaign. Kickstarter allows the public to “kick in” funding fees separate from box office revenue and participate directly in the financial success of the show. Plaia said they had already passed their goal by $500 and that the additional funds were simply upping the production values.
“The Kickstarter success meant that we could hire a professional sound guy and a real lighting designer,” she said. “With the maturity of the actors on stage, I’m looking for a really great production. And hopefully, a ‘Malibu High School Alumni Show’ will end up being an annual thing.”
“The Great Easter Egg Hunt” runs this weekend, July 6 and 7 at the MHS theatre. To participate in the Kickstarter campaign, visit the website http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2138753091/the-theatre-lab
To purchase tickets, visit the website http://www.malibuhigh.org/announcements/mhs-theatre-alumni-summer-show