First performed on February 14, 1895, at London’s St. James Theatre, Oscar Wilde’s farcical comedy The Importance of Being Ernest came to life once again at the Walter Reade Jr. Theatre at The Storm King School. Presented by SKS’ Department of Visual and Performing Arts, three performances of the play took place on November 9 -11, 2018.

 

 

 

Wilde’s most famous and enduring play, The Importance of Being Ernest provides a picture of 19th-century Victorian society in which appearance is more important than reality, looks are more valued than substance, and image is everything. Beneath the trappings of a witty farce, Wilde takes a swipe at a society obsessed with the superficial.

 

 

The SKS cast of The Importance of Being Ernest included Stuart Hutzler ’19 as John Worthing, Tanestrran Chandran ’19 as Algernon Moncrieff, Asia Raacke ’19 as Lady Bracknell, Caroline Hecht ’19 as Gwendolyn Fairfax, Olivia O’Blaney ’21 as Cecily Cardew, Helen Shen ’20 as Miss Prism, Chris Chang ’20 as Reverend Chasuble, Alisdair Neighbors ’22 as Lane, and Joseph Sullivan ’23 as Merriman.

 

 

According to Storm King’s Director of Theater Anne Fulton, her students, along with the Stagecraft crew, have been working hard since September to make the show a success. Based on the positive reactions of the audience, their efforts paid off. “The students were really happy that they got so many laughs from the audience–it helped to build their confidence in their performances. This was probably the most difficult play we’ve done in terms of the sheer number of lines each principal character had, and in the “tone” of the dialogue. The Importance of Being Earnest isn’t often performed in high schools, and I was impressed by our student-actors’ dedication to developing characters whose lives and style of speech were very different from their own,” explained Mrs. Fulton.

 

 

Senior Tanestrran Chandran, who learned many difficult lines and sets of dialogue, shared similar thoughts. “Before the first show, I was worried that the audience wouldn’t be able to understand our lines and accents. I was so happy to hear them laughing out loud during the performances. By the third show, I was very relaxed and settled into my role,” he explained.

 

 

Alongside the great performances by her students, Mrs. Fulton credits the stage crew for the show’s success. “We had an excellent stage and technical crew under the guidance of Lindsay Brown, and the set changes for the three acts were quick and seamless. The beautiful set was designed by Ms. Brown and constructed by her Stagecraft class. The costuming by Karen Eremin aided the actors a great deal in their ability to accurately represent characters from 19^th-century England,” continued Mrs. Fulton.