Warrior Word

By Kendall Asay and Anna Farcas

Sandbag Stage Left, the book-to-play adaptation written by John Anthony, recently made its way into the play production community of Edmonds-Woodway High School. This witty interpretation debuted its opening night on January 26th and continued with a total of 4 successful showings. It followed a humorous courtroom case with vibrant characters solving the mysterious death of a leading actress, Amelia Meddle. With her widowed husband, Arnold Meddle, as the main suspect of her murder, his innocence is put to the test. Several other characters endure intrusive interviews and harsh interrogations in an attempt to get to the bottom of what truly happened to Amelia Meddle.  

Without exception, every actor in the cast expressed a vastly different personality and an exciting take on their side of the story. Down to the most minute details, the assortment of characters had many defining aspects. Whether it was the way they spoke, their costumes, or even their gait, each and every person brought a new level of both depth and humor to the play. Even the actors who weren’t in the spotlight of the scene stayed perfectly in character for the entire duration of the play. No matter where on the stage you looked, you always felt immersed in the show and as if you were watching a real life courtroom case; plus laughable one liners.

Additionally, the appearance of each individual character defined who they were. For example, upon the first glance at characters like Ginger Rayle and Penelope Pacemaker, the audience was able to understand exactly what they stand for. Other costumes from the Judge and Bailiff brought a sense of authority and intense attention to detail. The costumes also created a spectacular sense of identity for the characters and helped the audience remember exactly who was who. The vibrant colors and statement outfits made deciphering and organizing characters much easier in the mind of the spectators. 

Another appealing aspect of Sandbag Stage Left was the many audience interactions. Numerous times throughout the play actors on stage engaged with the audience. Whether it was getting the crowd to gasp at surprising moments, or even pulling them up on stage to help contribute to the story. For instance, some brave audience members were brought up on stage to act as the jury. Those interactions brought a very exciting and at times humorous feature to the story that made it all the more intriguing. Furthermore, the audience was constantly on the edge of their seats and trying to anticipate what would be revealed next. 

This captivating play was overall time well spent. The effort that the Edmonds-Woodway play production members put into this show immensely paid off in an extremely entertaining manner. This venue of art is a piece that the spectacular cast should be immensely proud of. Productions like Sandbag Stage Left are the reasons that spectators continue to come back for each new show, and why the play production community continues to grow incredibly with new cast members on stage and behind the scenes. The entertainment of theater brings people together through laughter, problem-solving, and many emotions, and it’s what builds many memorable shows at Edmonds-Woodway.