News & Events 2006-2007

Blair Academy Students Present “How The Other Half Loves”

Blair Academy students presented “How The Other Half Loves” by acclaimed British playwright Alan Ayckbourn in the Wean Theatre in February. Director Jamien Richardson commented on the action and characters: As the lights go up, enter Frank Foster (played by Junior, Tim Peacock) in a jogging suit… Foster is a middle-aged executive with a penchant for long speeches and naïve assumptions. His wife, Fiona (played by Junior Caity Pinkard) is a bored high-society housewife. They truly love each other, but their relationship has become routine. They barely talk to each other anymore and every line between them is predictable. Fiona decides to play at being dangerous by having a tiny affair with her husband’s employee – Bob Phillips. Phillips (played by Senior Sandy Sherer) is a young guy, attractive, confident, “the office Romeo.” His wife, Teresa Phillips, is struggling at home with a new baby. Teresa (played by Freshman Audrey Nass) suspects Bob is up to something, but she can’t quite figure it out.

As Bob and Fiona desperately try to cover up their affair, one little white lie leads to another and another until a web of deceit entangles a third unsuspecting couple – The Detweilers. William and Mary Detweiler (played by Senior Keegan McDonald and Freshman Nathalie Tilley) are in for quite a ride, as they unknowingly take the fall for the affair. The result is a painfully comic scene in which Frank and Teresa orchestrate two dinner parties to sort the whole thing out, each held on consecutive nights but actually happening on the stage at the same time. Part of Ayckbourn’s brilliance is his unique stage design. His set is a mirror into two worlds at once, as we see the deception play out in the home of the Fosters’ and the Phillips’ simultaneously. Two phones ring, two doors slam and two wives pass within inches of each other as they set the table for dinner with the same people.

Behind the scenes, orchestrating this challenging production were the two student directors, Junior Sasha Patane and Junior Ashley Thompson. This British farce by acclaimed playwright Alan Ayckbourn lent humor and hilarity to the timeless topic of relationships and infidelity.

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Updated 2/26/07

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