Whistles and cheers greeted the cast of Honors Theater Ensemble during their last performance at the Black Box Theater on May 16. “Gate F-10,” self-written and performed by the all-senior class, revolved around the interactions of ten people en route to Paris who become stranded at an airport.
This motley crew of characters consisted of Noah, an injured athlete (Ethan Chan), Ross, a retired sports manager (David Sloan), Cleo, a fraudulent flight attendant hitching a ride (Tara Vatandoust), Violet, a former flight attendant who still shows up to work (Niki Abbaszadeh), Shalia, a thief with a penchant for shiny items (Sanika Nihalani) and Roland, the detective who attempts to bring her to justice (Jason Wu Chen).
Other characters included Thea (Kody Lin), Charlotte, Thea’s wife of 20 years (Jewelia Libejas-Suarez), Madison (Deniz Ertan) and Mark, Madison’s jilted ex-boyfriend (Daniel Stankovich).
Over the course of the play, tempers flared over incessant flight delays as interpersonal relationships formed, broke and mended. The decision to set Paris as the destination stemmed from the fact that much of the cast was enrolled in French class at Portola. Having an airport as the main setting allowed the cast to explore different personalities and problems, according to Ertan.
“It was hard to come up with the idea itself because some people really were strong in their ideas, so that’s why we wanted to let everyone embrace their own ideas,” Ertan said. “So just like what me and Daniel Stankovich were doing, where we have a whole love story, whereas Julia and Kody, they have a breakup story and it’s all connected within the one general setting.”
Tech theater members also assisted with costuming, lights, sound effects and set design for the final production.
“We had to work around [only having one tech rehearsal] and had to work efficiently and quickly,” Schneider said. “That was a standard there because we like honors theater to be able to do that. But I think the actual run through the show was pretty smooth, despite the fact that we only had the first one.”
Even in the midst of AP Testing, Honors Theater Ensemble members managed to schedule rehearsals and practice with their partners instead of all meeting in one place, according to Ertan. For scenes that involved other interactions, actors spent more time memorizing lines.
“This group really found a cohesive way to weave a bunch of different stories together,” Drama and Theatre Tech teacher Samantha Sanford said. “They learned a lot through the process and learned how to pull the show together. It’s always nice to end on a high note like that.”
Ultimately, the seniors’ hard work enabled them to give their high school career a proper send-off.
“It’s honestly really rewarding to see everything coming together for the last time and the aspects of an airport and just meeting people and making connections throughout,” Ertan said. “All of the stories have come to a conclusion, whether it be good or bad, they all come to a consensus at the end of the day.”
