By Khalida Sarwari
It’s not every day that a 17-year-old boy is inspired to take up sewing, but then it’s not every day that he gets to direct his own play. Andrew York, a Saratoga High School senior and drama student, recently had a chance to do both.
Sewing skills weren’t required of Andrew for the director’s role, but he went to his mother to learn just the same, because he wanted his costumes to be just right. Andrew is staging Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” for his senior honors project. In this well-known play, many of the characters wear capes. Andrew’s idea was to have his actors wear capes that symbolize their individuality.
“Costuming is one of the big things that make people believe that what they’re watching is real,” said Andrew.
The importance of costumes is one of many things that Andrew has learned in the process of preparing for his directorial debut. He was amazed to find just how much effort goes into the process, from learning to work with others, to creating schedules, and helping to design and construct the sets.
The play, which opens Feb. 6 at the Thermond Drama Center, is about Cyrano (played by sophomore Ray McCarthy), a cadet in the French Army and man of many talents, including poetry and music, “whose emotions are never weak.” Though he has a lot going for him, Cyrano’s Achilles heel is possessing an extremely large nose, which is the source of his self-consciousness. Cyrano’s self-doubt prevents him from expressing his love for the beautiful but superficial Roxane (junior Emily Ludwig), so he helps Christian (sophomore Zach Grob-Lipkis), a handsome new cadet who also happens to be “dumb as a chimpanzee,” win her love, said Andrew.
Andrew first read “Cyrano” in his freshman year of high school and was immediately struck by the prose. He’s since read the play another 13 times in its entirety in three different translations.
“It’s one of the most beautiful pieces of literature written, because it combines drama, comedy, wit with heartache, love with loss and the idea of sacrificing your own happiness for someone else’s,” Andrew said.
Chivalry, honor, superficiality and self-doubt are some of the running themes throughout Rostand’s play, according to Andrew. Paradoxes are another major one.
“People spend all their time talking about poetry, talking about the idea of love, without ever experiencing it,” said Andrew.
The cast comprises 14 actors, ranging from freshmen to seniors. They’ve been rehearsing since the end of December, putting in an average of 15 hours a week. Working with his cast has taught him a few valuable lessons, Andrew said.
“You’ve got to keep in mind they’re doing it because they want to,” he said. “I can’t let them waste the time that they put into it. I don’t want people to say it was good for a student production; I want it to be good, period. I want it to be good on its own merit.”
What’s more, the experience has helped Andrew realize just how powerful passion is–so powerful that it can sometimes replace experience, he said.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students. They can be purchased at the door prior to the show or at the school office. Performances are at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6 and 7 and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 8.
Next up for the Saratoga High School drama department is the spring musical, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” which runs April 24-May 2. The musical is based on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens.
For more information about the department’s upcoming shows, visit saratogatheatrearts.org.
