{"id":42783,"date":"2022-01-12T00:37:21","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T00:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-high-school-drawing-laughs-with-comedy-performance\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:09:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:09:35","slug":"montezuma-cortez-high-school-drawing-laughs-with-comedy-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-high-school-drawing-laughs-with-comedy-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma-Cortez High School drawing laughs with comedy performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School\u2019s adaptation of \u201cThe Play That Goes Wrong\u201d is on view this weekend.<\/span>Courtesy Nicholaus Sandner M-CHS Theater Department<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Expect ridiculousness and hilarity with Montezuma-Cortez High School theater department\u2019s show: \u201cThe Play That Goes Wrong\u201d on view this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, I decided that we needed some comedy in the community, and just in the world, and we need to laugh,\u201d said Nicholaus Sandner, M-CHS drama teacher and theater director.<\/p>\n

The show opened last weekend, and will continue Saturday and Sunday with performances at 7 p.m in the M-CHS Ralph Vavak Auditorium. A matinee is slated for 2 p.m. Sunday.<\/p>\n

About 50 students have worked on and off stage to make the two-hour production possible.<\/p>\n

Two farce one-act skits coalesce to mold an absurd comedy production depicting fictitious performances that dissolve into shambles.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School\u2019s adaptation of \u201cThe Play That Goes Wrong\u201d is on view this weekend.<\/span>Courtesy Nicholaus Sandner M-CHS Theater Department<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The second act, \u201dThe One Act Play That Goes Wrong,\u201c follows actors staging a murder mystery that disintegrates. It is derived from \u201dThe Play That Goes Wrong,\u201c a one-act play \u2013 later covered by famous director J.J. Abrams and Broadway \u2013 which evolved into the television show \u201dThe Goes Wrong Show.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cA Radio Drama Falls Apart,\u201c the first play in the sequence, is about actors performing a 1930s radio drama that also quickly crumbles. Sandner dreamed up this accompaniment ensemble, drawing inspiration from the school\u2019s own radio dramas remotely recorded and locally aired during COVID-19-related school closures.<\/p>\n

Sandner describes the show as a \u201cphysical comedy\u201d \u2013 a style of production he said was new to students.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School\u2019s adaptation of \u201cThe Play That Goes Wrong\u201d is on view this weekend.<\/span>Courtesy Nicholaus Sandner M-CHS Theater Department<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of technical stuff that goes on that, hopefully, the audience won\u2019t even notice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For instance, the set has to collapse at a moment\u2019s notice. The actors have to safely fall, get \u201cknocked out\u201d by a door and get dragged through a window.<\/p>\n

Implementing these actions took research, he said. The theater department took technique inspiration from violent movies, clowns and physical comedians, he said.<\/p>\n

So far, the shows have been well-attended, and audiences have been receptive to the show\u2019s humor, Sandner said.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School\u2019s adaptation of \u201cThe Play That Goes Wrong\u201d is on view this weekend.<\/span>Courtesy Nicholaus Sandner M-CHS Theater Department<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI had several people when they were leaving, say that their their stomachs hurt, because they were laughing so hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Auditions were held in August, and the show was originally slated to open in November.<\/p>\n

But, Oct. 27 through Nov. 5, all but charter schools in the Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 were closed. With the addition of the holiday season and corresponding breaks from school, the play was postponed until now.<\/p>\n

Rehearsals continued virtually through quarantine, Sandner said.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School\u2019s adaptation of \u201cThe Play That Goes Wrong\u201d is on view this weekend.<\/span>Courtesy Nicholaus Sandner M-CHS Theater Department<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It wasn\u2019t the only setback the theater department has faced in the wake of COVID-19, Sandner said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s production has produced a \u201cpretty normal feeling,\u201d Sandner said, as performers and audience members don\u2019t have to wear masks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur seasons have been very fluid for the last several years because of COVID,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2020, the theater department\u2019s \u201cFiddler on the Roof\u201d <\/em>was canceled after its dress rehearsal because of school closures, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, we had our dress rehearsal, we invited everybody to be able to see the show, and then our show was canceled after that, and so that was really heartbreaking,\u201d Sandner said.<\/p>\n

After a bout of online learning, the theater department came back with plans to perform \u201cThe Crucible\u201d<\/em> in fall 2020, but that production was pushed back to April, he said.<\/p>\n

In spring 2021, however, the department\u2019s self-created musical \u201cIsle of Sky\u201d<\/em> graced the school\u2019s stage on schedule in March, although students had to wear masks and the audience had to be socially distanced.<\/p>\n

Tickets for \u201cThe Play That Goes Wrong\u201d can be purchased at mchsdrama.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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