Following last year’s fall play “It’s a Wonderful Life” the Drama Club has announced their newest fall production: “Emma”. The play, based on Jane Austen’s novel, follows Emma as she befriends Harriet, a girl in a lower social class. With loads of miscommunication and humor, the girls eventually help one another find love amidst the social construct of the 19th century. 

Each year the play is chosen by directors Leslie Kane and Paula Smith. The fall play is generally a comedy which is why they selected “Emma” which has gained popularity in the last 2 years. The directors normally choose to do a period piece every couple years with the last one being Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” in 2018. This gives the actors a chance to gain 

experience in a variety of different shows throughout their high school careers. 

“We decided to choose ‘Emma’ for this year’s play, since it became pretty popular with “Emma” coming out as a movie in 2020. We thought that some of the relevance of people recognizing the name ‘Emma’ and watching the movie would get people more excited about watching a piece in this nature,” said Kane.

The show stars seniors Camryn Caruso as Emma and Stone TeSelle as Mr. Knightley alongside sophomore Shea Holt as Harriet Smith. The show is based on old British literature so there are a lot of aspects the actors and actresses have to learn, including using English accents and 19th century dialect. 

“I didn’t expect to get the role but it’s really fun so far. It’s just like the language is really hard. I feel like I’m speaking backwards because it is like 1800s English,” said Camryn Caruso. 

There are a lot of things that have to be considered when doing a period piece including historically accurate costumes, makeup and props which are different from what is used for modern shows. Although the show they are doing is mostly based on the classic tale, the club is putting their own modern spin on it by adding extra comedic one-liners.

“Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ is a little different from the show that we are doing, so I am excited for everyone to see the adaptations we made,” said Stone TeSelle.

With daily rehearsals after school the play is on track to debut on Nov. 3, 4 and 5 during the evening. Everyone is welcome to attend as the Drama Club showcases their hard work.