The Green Hope High School Theater Company presented their second show of the year, “The Terrible Infants.” Following up on their heartwarming fall play, “Almost, Maine,” the troupe decided to go in a different direction for their second time around. Focusing on the twisted stories of five terrible infants, the 22 actors of the Theater IV class demonstrated the moral consequences of lying and greed.
Tracing back all the way to last school year in June, the Theater IV class embarked on the production of this contorted show. “We first started the show by getting our scripts all the way back in June to read through and mark any directing ideas we had,” explained Ipsi Vasipalli (‘25). Then, as the school year started, the class fully put all of their efforts into perfecting this show. Wanting to have a unique, innovative and quality show every production, the GHHS Theater adopts different techniques most conducive to delivering the respective stories; specific to “The Terrible Infants,” Mr. Peter Comperatore, the director, took on an unconventional directorial technique.
“For this show we used a unique process called ‘Moment Work,’ which really boils down to instead of starting the show from working on the script, we started the process of putting together the show by playing with props, costumes, lighting sources etc and found moments that intrigues us and built the show from there. What was great about using this process is every student had ownership in the show from the very beginning beyond their individual role. The goal is to make a clear ‘moment’ without basing it on the text, which is usually the opposite of how rehearsal works for a normal show,” Comperatore explained.
After months of work, the Theater IV class presented their show to Green Hope on the first, second and fifteenth of November.. Kat Walker (‘26), who was an audience member for a performance, exclaimed “I loved how the different scenes flowed seamlessly together and how the energy was always at 100% throughout the whole show. They used so many different techniques to really create a beautiful crazy masterpiece! I honestly left the auditorium having more of an appreciation for live theatre, which I didn’t think was possible. Everything was so effortless and efficient for telling the stories. I absolutely loved every single second of it.” Their performance and feedback at school later reflected on their performances at the conferences.
With the culmination of their hard work, the class took their show to the regional North Carolina Theater Conference on the third and fourth of November. When asked about their emotions going into the show, the class had unanimous feelings. “I was a little nervous, but I was just expecting a healthy and inviting atmosphere full of people who understood all of our hard work. We were all nervous but excited,” explained Ipsi Vasipalli (‘25).
Their nerves, however, dissipated, and in turn, developed into excitement when they finally closed the conference with their show. This excitement was further compounded when the class was presented with six honors: Excellence in Live Music won by Akshara Venkatesan (‘24); Excellence in Production Design won by Ria Rohilla (‘24); Outstanding Achievement in Stage Management won by Emma Waitrak; Excellence in Directing; Outstanding Achievement in Ensemble Acting; and Distinguished Play. These awards were unexpected, as Cloude Fewkes (‘24) shared “I wasn’t expecting a lot going into regionals, I had no idea how we would do so I was really just ready to give it my all and accept any outcome.” The outcome, nonetheless, was six awards. “Everyone was really surprised and proud when awards were presented, I think none of us had really thought to expect anything so we were all super excited when we started getting awards. All of us were so, so excited when we found out we were going to States, I remember everyone just cheering and hugging each other. We were all super happy to have made it so far together, and it was a really nice moment as an ensemble and community,” expressed Fewkes.
With these six honors, Green Hope was able to carry their show to the NCTC State conference— this time, with feelings of excitement and confidence. On the sixteenth and seventeenth of November, the Theater IV class once again traveled to Greensboro to present “The Terrible Infants.” Compared to the nervousness experienced during the regional conference, they carried themselves with high regard as they went into the state conference. Fewkes then added to their experience. “States was so much fun! I loved seeing all of the shows and meeting so many new people, everyone was so skilled at their craft and it was super inspiring. We got to see a lot of fun shows and talk to the actors and technicians who had created those productions afterwards, which was a really wonderful experience.” As they finished the conference, they were awarded “innovative storytelling” by the adjudicators.
As the Theater IV class wrapped up their semester, they’ve made fulfilling, meaningful and amazing memories from their show, “The Terrible Infants,” and from their showings of this production.
