The Addams Family: The Many Roles it Takes to Put on a Show

Written by Sylvia VanCarterBerg.

Wednesday splits the day in half, like a knife slicing a cake or, in the case of “The Addams Family” musical, like a smitten daughter’s arrow piercing an apple placed on her lover’s head.

This spring, the high school theater department put on another meticulously crafted production for all to enjoy, The Addams Family. Based on the beloved characters from the television show written by Charles Addams, the musical tells the story of love, growing up, family and death. Directors Matt McKay and Jack Phillipson worked hard with the cast and crew for over two months until they were ready to share it with the community on March 14, 16, 22 and 23. 

Junior Rory Morter played Gomez Addams. This is the fourth production he has been in, but his first as a lead. His love for his found family of theater is one of the reasons he continues to perform so ardently. 

“[Theater] gives me a sense of community like nothing else,” Morter said. “It allows me to connect with an audience and a set of peers that all contribute to my mental state.”

Like many individuals participating in the musical, Morter has several things on his plate that desire his attention. Still, he balances them flawlessly and has learned plenty of life lessons and tips from participating in the theater department.

“I actually can’t juggle, number one. Number two, a very good life lesson: manage your time well,” Morter said. “I block out what I have to get done and when I have to get it done and make sure I do it by then.”

The spouse of Gomez Addams, Morticia, is played by senior Sevi Cullum. Cullum has had two years of experience at the high school’s drama department, as well as one year at her old school at Venice High School in Florida. She has played varying characters such as Jo March in Little Women, Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda and Wadsworth in Clue.

“I said the other day that if you take all of my characters I’ve played over high school and just turned the notch down a couple and put them all together, it’s kind of me,” Cullum said. “I learned a lot about myself through the different characters I play, especially about confidence.”

For Cullum, theater has many wonderful aspects to it. Perhaps the most special feeling for her is being able to explore herself in a different role. 

“When I embody a new character, I get to learn about a new perspective that one person has on the world, which I find incredibly interesting because I love to learn about the human mind,” Cullum said. “Also scene work, especially one-on-one scene work, is just an incredible experience because you get to think of the intricate details about how people interact– human interaction is very interesting, and I get to dive into it when it comes to theater.”

Scene work is when the director and the actors deconstruct the scene and focus on how each character will react to the situation at hand to workshop the minute details of a show. Often, these changes allow actors to fully embrace their performance and insert themselves into their character’s psyche.

Choreographer Tracy Alles’ right-hand girl, sophomore Summer Swanzy, is also the captain of the dance team for the show. Additionally, Swanzy played the flight attendant ancestor in the ensemble. Although the role might seem minuscule, she has several responsibilities behind the scenes.

“I do the [dance] warm-ups every practice and before performances, I make sure everyone is ready to go,” Swanzy said. “I help people with choreography if they need help, and I also do some of the choreography as well. [Being a part of an ensemble,] you do have a lot more music and choreography to learn.”

Even though the audience comes to watch the cast, a show is nothing without the crew behind the curtain. The crew is filled with varying positions from stage managers to dressers. Freshman Esther Cosby is stage left deck captain this year which entails making sure all props are accounted for, everyone is ready for their cues, while monitoring all things being moved on and off stage.

Cosby is most comfortable on the stage, playing Sebastian in Little Mermaid and Jenny White in Little Woman through her middle school years, but even in her first year on stage crew, she can attest that crew has its benefits. 

“If you are looking for a way to participate in the drama program but aren’t quite ready to be on stage and be in the cast, it’s a great community to be in,” Cosby said. “There were a couple of people who auditioned for the musical [this year] because they built that confidence over time from being on crew and became wonderful actresses and actors.” 

This group of thespians experienced a major success with the conclusion of their two-week show. For those who didn’t have the chance to see these performers, don’t fret. McKay and Philipson are already preparing for next year’s play- Peter and the Starcatcher, which tells Peter Pan’s origin story. If you are interested, take a leap and look out for more information about auditions for next school year.