Theater students from Campbell Hall High School on the set of "Bakersfield Mist"
At last night’s performance of Bakersfield Mist, art expert Lionel Percy was not the only visitor to Maude Gutman’s bizarre and colorful trailer park home. Maude also welcomed 20 theater students from Campbell Hall High School who attended the performance and enjoyed a Q&A Talk Back with the cast immediately following.
The Campbell Hall students are in rehearsal themselves, preparing their upcoming school production of Brecht’s Good Person of Szechuan, directed by drama teacher Josh Adell. The students finished their after-school rehearsal on campus last night at 7pm in North Hollywood then climbed into a small bus and dashed over to Hollywood to catch the 8pm curtain at the Fountain.
A conversation between the cast and the audience.
After the performance, actors Jenny O’Hara and Nick Ullett were joined on stage by writer/director Stephen Sachs for an informal Q&A discussion with the Campbell Hall students and the general audience. The theater students asked the artists many questions about acting, playwriting, how the play was developed, how an actor prepares for a role, and sought advice on starting their own careers in the professional theatre. It was a fun and lively chat, filled with laughter and words of good advice.
Actors Nick Ullett and Jenny O'Hara discuss the play.
Campbell Hall students with the "Bakersfield" cast
When it was all over, the students gathered on stage with the cast for a final photo together. Then off they went, scampering back onto the bus for the drive back into the Valley. Reflecting on the wonderful night at the theatre they just enjoyed, and looking eagerly ahead to their own next rehearsal.
