Murder Before Christmas (2024)
Panther Playhouse | Harrison High School
Full Production Description:
This double feature of winter-themed suspense plays invited students to explore genre, irony, and surprise endings. Combining traditional mystery structure with psychological tension, the festival included And Then There Were None and The Margins with shared cast and tech.
-
- Dramaturgical research on banned books and memory studies
- Cue programming for symbolic lighting shifts
- Mood-based blocking and soundscape layering
- Script annotation for pacing and suspense
- Facilitating audience discussion on controversial content
-
- Led psychological safety protocols for horror content
- Collaborated on visual metaphor development with lighting team
- Integrated Meisner and Stanislavski tools for tension building
- Framed rehearsal as inquiry into storytelling and ethics
And Then There Were None
Full Production Description:
This stylized production embraced Agatha Christie’s suspenseful pacing while infusing a vintage noir visual identity. Students worked with shadow, silhouette, and voice to bring characters to life through physical nuance and tonal control. Staged as part of a winter festival, the show emphasized design cohesion and audience immersion.
-
- Dual-role rehearsal management
- Victorian and mid-century research for design cohesion
- Dialect consistency across casts
- Lighting for suspense and isolation
- Props management across quick transitions
- Marketing a double-bill format to families and educators
-
- Coached students through managing tone shift across shows
- Managed shared stage and backline tech
- Structured double-call rehearsals and staggered notes
- Integrated layered dramaturgy across two scripts
The Margins
Psychological thriller for fall one-act showcase
Full Production Description:
A haunting meditation on memory, power, and truth, this show utilized horror tropes and academic satire to confront erasure and obsession. Students designed symbolic lighting cues, scored original transition soundscapes, and led the dramaturgical exploration of censorship and paranoia.
-
- Character research and 1930s dialect coaching
- Silhouette blocking and movement technique
- Black-and-white costume rendering
- Poster campaigns and ticket design
- Time management in back-to-back festival tech
-
- Mentored students on tone-driven lighting and costuming
- Oversaw layered cue calling during quick-change-heavy transitions
- Facilitated cross-cast collaboration during shortened tech windows
- Integrated historical context with student-led design pitches