This year, Aragon Drama performed “The Diary of Anne Frank” for their spring play. The show ran for two weekends, from March 10-12 and again from 17-19. “The Diary of Anne Frank” is Aragon Drama’s first double cast show; one cast performed during the first weekend, and another cast performed during the second weekend.
“[We decided to double cast] because the play is about the Holocaust and because it’s such an important subject I felt like it would be great to have as many students involved as possible,” said drama teacher and director Shane Smuin.
The play follows the true story of Anne Frank, a 13 year old Jewish girl who is forced into hiding during the Holocaust.
[With double casting the show], there’s twice as many kids involved, twice as many families and twice as many performances
“[The] Diary of Anne Frank is about Anne Frank and her family, the Van Daan Family and Mr. Dussel, who hide out in a secret annex in Amsterdam during World War Two to avoid Nazi persecution,” Smuin said. “[I chose this play] because it’s such an important story. There’s great characters, and it’s just such a profoundly important story. We can never forget about the Holocaust. [With double casting the show], there’s twice as many kids involved, twice as many families and twice as many performances. It’s just such an important story that needs to be told as often as possible.”
Some have highlightedthe difficulties of putting on such a serious show.
“It’s hard to get a big audience for this kind of show because it’s a very horrible story, and it’s very sad and it’s hard to watch,” said sophomore Katya Kleinhenz, who played Margot Frank in the Prinsegracht Cast. “It requires a lot of ability to come and watch the show and to be on the show.”
Others wonder if performing the play is the best way to raise awareness about issues like antisemitism.
“Even though [The Holocaust] is important to talk about, I also feel like Aragon sometimes isn’t really the best school to talk about it,” said senior Kamaile Zimmerman, who played Anne Frank in the Westerkerk Cast. “Especially with the recent hate crimes and hate speech, I don’t think we’re educated enough to really talk about it. I’m also a little scared that there will be backlash from doing this play. It is a sensitive topic and I understand [Smuin’s] ambition to try and expose more people to it, but again, we might not be the best high school for it.”
It is a sensitive topic and I understand [Smuin’s] ambition to try and expose more people to it, but again, we might not be the best high school for it.
The first cast was called the Prinsegracht Cast, named after the address of the secret annex where Anne and the 7 others hid. The second was called the Westerkerk Cast, named after a church that was near the hiding place.
Some performers highlight the benefits of double casting.
“[One benefit is] giving more exposure to people,” Zimmerman said. “If you can’t make it one weekend, you can see it next weekend. It’s also interesting seeing different people portray the same character because then you can see which cast takes a certain route or does a certain scene.”
Some enjoy the collaborative aspect of having two different casts.
“I love double casting because you can work with your double,” Kleinhenz said. “You can work outside of rehearsal and practice with each other, listen to how they say their lines and watch what they do on stage. You can get so many ideas from them.”
However, there have also been drawbacks to the addition of double casting.
“ Rehearsals aren’t with both casts,” Kleinhenz said. “So for example, if you have people that you want to hang out with in the other cast, you don’t have any rehearsals with them. We only ha[d] Friday rehearsals as one whole group … You have to find time on your own time to meet up and go over stuff.”
You have to find time on your own time to meet up and go over stuff
Others are wary ofthe competitive nature of double casting.
“I feel like double casting is a bit weird because of the way kids like to compete with each other for the parts,” said Zimmerman. “When they both get that part, there’s still that stigma where you feel like you have to do better than them, even though you both got the role.”
Double casting can also lead to a reduction in the amount of time spent rehearsing.
“[One drawback is that there is] less time to rehearse,” said junior Maya Efron, who played Anne Frank in the Prinsegracht Cast. “[The time is] basically split in half, because each cast is alternating days of rehearsal.”
With the power outages on March 15-16, the Westerkerk Cast ran into issues regarding rehearsal, as they were unable to use the theater prior to their performance. The cast ended up using each other’s houses to practice their performance, and were only able to do one typical rehearsalin the hours prior to the show.
Audience members responded positively to the play.
“I thought [the show] was really incredible,” said audience member Dahlia Anapolsky. “They did a really great job portraying this amazing story, and I think all of the actors are really competent and really brought their characters to life. My favorite parts were all of the little subtle jokes that made it feel real and let you connect to it, even though it is a historic drama.”
My favorite parts were all of the little subtle jokes that made it feel real and let you connect to it, even though it is a historic drama
Others highlight their favorite parts about the performance.
“I thought the show was great,” said audience member Evan Westheimer. “I’m Jewish, so I find it very meaningful. I saw both casts too, and I thought it was a great show. One of my favorite parts were the jokes they added in, especially about Mr. Dussel making sly remarks about Anne. I thought those were very funny.”
Following “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Aragon’s advanced drama class will be performing “Urinetown” on May 17.
