Boca High drama students take on ‘something different’ for next play

The Boca Raton High School Department of Theatre & Dance is back with its second play since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The drama students will perform “One Man, Two Guv’nors” via live stream from May 28 to 30. The show is a British comedy farce and an adaptation of “The Servant of Two Masters.”

The students, who do everything from building the set to costume design, have been rehearsing for months every day, three hours a day, said theater teacher Skye Whitcomb.

“They’re absolutely working hard in the middle of testing season, too. So, the fact that they’re able to commit three hours a day to this, to me, is incredible, it’s just fantastic,” he said.

Boca High’s Department of Theatre & Dance typically performed two mainstage shows a year before the pandemic as well as put on a freshman show, performance showcases and flash mob performances, Whitcomb said.

They have also entered numerous competitions as well as won multiple awards including best musical for “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in 2016 and “Sweet Charity” in 2018. They consistently have won superior ratings at Regional and State Thespian conferences in a variety of events, including solo musical, monologues, publicity design, costume design and one-act play, he said.

Summer Severin, a 17-year-old senior who has been involved with drama since the eighth grade, is the fight captain for this production. She’s in charge of the physicality and running the fight calls for the fight scenes, she said.

“I think it’s one of the funniest productions we’ve ever done. Everything is well done. I’m excited to see what it looks like on the video medium and how much the audience loves it; I want them to love it as much as I do,” she said.

Severin, who will be attending Elon University in the fall and majoring in musical theater, has also been part of the cast, done lighting, dance and vocal captaining, and was an assistant vocal director for prior shows.

She thinks people should see the show because it’s “something different and new they haven’t seen us do before,” she said.

“If they’ve never seen us, it’s a good introduction into the program and shows the level of difficulty of pieces we perform,” Severin said.

Another student who’s involved with the show, Calvin Zanetti, an 18-year-old senior, plays Alan, a Shakespearian wannabe actor who gets into a lot of trouble.

For Zanetti, being able to also learn about live stream and video has been an added benefit, he said.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to learn about filmmaking and television and a new environment to perform in and making people laugh. I think that’s what people need in a time like this,” he said.

Whitcomb also said the upcoming play is not only a great experience to be able to perform, but it’s also a chance to get experience in film and television.

“This is where most of them can make their living if they want to go into this field. They can see the differences of acting in front of camera versus the stage, how to present themselves. There are students operating cameras,” he said.

“One Man, Two Guv’nors” will be presented at 7 p.m. May 28 and 29 and at 2 p.m. May 29 and 30.

Tickets may be purchased up until the day of the performance from bocadrama.com.