Student-written play ‘Stick to the Script’ keeps audience laughing

Have you ever wanted to be the star of your own ‘90s-style sitcom? Turns out, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

Eden High School’s production of “Stick to the Script” follows a young actor in a “Friends”-style sitcom. The twist is he doesn’t know he’s an actor. He starts to question his existence when he becomes aware of the laugh track in the background and the advertisements sprinkled throughout the show.

“Stick to the Script” is a student-created and student-performed show. It was written and directed by Eden student Ava McVittie. The concept was created in a creative writing course, and developed further in a drama class. It was originally a one-act, 15-minute play, but was extended to be a 45-minute play for a local drama festival, with cast and crew rehearsing since the new year.

Inspired by some beloved ‘90s TV sitcoms, such as “Friends,” it kept audiences laughing until the last minute. There were a lot of sound cues, due to frequent laugh tracks and sound effects, but the sound engineers pulled it off flawlessly. The lighting was also a highlight of the production, as the lighting colours and positions frequently changed to reflect the characters’ state of mind.

Eden’s stage and theatre are very intimate, which worked well for this production, as the audience felt very connected to the story. However, there were some dim patches of lighting on the stage and occasionally, actors would unfortunately walk into those patches, causing the audience to have a hard time seeing their faces.

Credit to Taylor Morency, who played one of the main characters, Chase, on stage.

Chase brings to mind other famous comedic characters, such as Joey from “Friends.” Morency took the challenge of playing a comedic character well, and managed to show the difference between Chase as a character in the sitcom, and Chase as an actor outside of the sitcom, in a believable and empathetic way.

Another noteworthy cast member was Daniel Miralles, who played a celebrity in the sitcom. Miralles’ character, Jesse Angels, shifted between slick pitchman and slimy guest star, exemplified by his dueling posh and dirtbag accents. Although sometimes his British accent slipped, and made it difficult to tell what accent was being used, that could have been a character choice. Overall, the character was played very well and had an important role in showing that all was not well in the world of the sitcom.

In the end, “Stick to the Script” was a funny and surprisingly empathetic story. It delivered a poignant message about how we often outgrow the roles we are given, and how that’s all right.

“Stick to the Script” is a funny, creative show that is suitable for all ages.

Inspired by ‘90s-era sitcoms, Eden production blurs the line between real life and make-believe