By Iyan Sandahl
“It begins at Baker Street,” said Aydan Wong (playing Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle) for the last time. Though ending drama was an emotional experience, we were all proud to be there.
Anyone who knows me knows that I have an assortment of wildly different friends. But there is one thing that most of us have in common, and it is one of the main reasons why my weird and wonderful friend group exists: Dalat Drama. Although, it is hard to quantify whom I am referring to when I say “my friend group,” because to some extent, all of drama is my friend group.
Most of us who have joined Dalat drama at some point in our high school careers have been instantly hooked. We’ve been through a lot together: auditions, hilarious first day script read-throughs, not-so-hilarious runs of scenes we’ve heard only a few hundred times, intense memorization, last-minute line check panic, celebratory drama dinners, relaxing afternoons of workday flat painting, ticket sales shifts, long-haul late night tech week rehearsals, exhilarating opening night performances, post-matinee crashes, closing night triumphs, final bows, and farewells, and all of the ridiculous backstage shenanigans in between. The amount of dedication drama people have towards the success of our productions is insane. After all, they sacrifice two hours of their lives after school most days of the week in harbor hall to do this crazy thing that we all love. Naomi O’ Quin described the experience as “impactful, fun, [and] bonding.”
This year’s performance, Sherlock, was bittersweet for me. It was my first show as a drama senior, but it was also my second-to-last show here at Dalat. What I liked most about it were the elaborate costumes and set. Tech week is always the most satisfying part of drama in my opinion, because you get to see all the separate pieces you have worked on come together to form a whole. Things that I could only imagine at the start began to materialize before my eyes. Walls and windows and doors and furniture began to appear, transforming the blank stage into a lively, Victorian atmosphere. The stage became its own little world and walking onto it felt like stepping into that world in another time and place. Once I had something I could visualize, the acting became more natural. We all became our characters, and the story began to unfold.
It always feels good to end the day with drama. Every year after our production wraps up, my day always feels like something is missing. Through the medium of drama, I have gotten to meet a lot of really cool and interesting people over the last four years, most of whom are now my good friends. I think I speak for all my fellow upperclassmen when I say that we will all miss this very much. It has been a privilege to know all of you in drama, and I am counting down the days until next semester’s rehearsals begin. Even after I graduate, I will still be rooting for you guys and cheering you on from afar. Go Dalat Drama!
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