Seven Snelten sits backstage, waiting for the lights to dim and the show to start. Through the nerves of performing, and with this play being so different from others they’ve performed in, Seven is at ease with knowing that they’re prepared for anything that happens tonight.

This past weekend at MCHS’ Freshmen Campus, the annual fall play was performed. This year the play was “Secret in the Wings” by Mary Zimmermen, which is very different because it uses the actors actual names, and has many different stories that are jumped between that come together at the end of the story.

“I wanted to do something completely out of the ordinary,” says play director Andrew Hillier, “and I knew that Mary Zimmerman would have a play that was unique and unlike anything I’ve directed before. I was also drawn to the unusual structure of the play, which isn’t linear and doesn’t follow just one story.”

Along with the different stories, all of the actors get to play multiple different characters.

“I get to have multiple different characters that are each very different,” says actor Seven Snelten, “so I’m never really playing the same type of character. I play a wide variety of characters, and I also like that it’s a very small cast, It seems more intimate and more family-like.”

This play is significantly different from previous productions at MCHS, and other productions members of the cast and crew have been a part of.

“What isn’t different?” says actor Matthew Zurawski. “I mean it’s a small cast, first of all and I’m usually in shows with bigger casts…the big thing is that it’s in the round which is really cool, and really different, I’ve never done a show in the round before.”

There are challenges that come with any production, specifically if it has new kinds of challenges to tackle in it.

“It can get kind of confusing between stories,” says Snelten, “the stories get interrupted and resolved later in the play, so it can be kind of hard to keep track of them sometimes.”

“The students have been so flexible as we’ve worked through the challenges of the production,” says Hillier. “It’s been an enjoyable experience and I’m inspired for the musical in the spring and next year’s season.”

As the final performance of the play comes to a close, Seven is proud of their performance and excited for what’s to come.