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An ‘Election’ where everyone is the winner
Seaside High School’s
fall play comes at
a timely moment
By KATHERINE LACAZE
FOR EO MEDIA GROUP
I
n the middle of a con-
tentious election cycle,
a group of Seaside High
School students are
exploring this keystone
of America’s democracy
through a satirical lens with their
production of “The Election,”
aimed at providing the community
some much needed comedic relief.
“You’ll laugh, you’ll cringe,
you’ll laugh some more,” senior
Bekah Cox said. “It should be fun
for everyone, and they will be able
to relate to it on some level.”
In the play, which opens Friday,
Nov. 4, Cox’s character, Chris-
ty Martin, is a preppy, polished
know-it-all who decides to run
for student body president against
Mark Davenport, a completely
unprepared fellow student who
only wanted to pad his resume for
college applications and expect-
ed an uncontested victory. Their
contentious race is sparked by the
fictional school’s student body
president resigning in disgrace, à
la Richard Nixon. Several of the
play’s themes are applicable to the
real world of politics at every level
of government.
Cox, a veteran of the high
school’s drama program, described
her character as “almost Hillary
Clinton, but not quite,” adding her
fellow cast mates often joked she
would need to find a pantsuit to
wear for her costume.
“Christy is very good about
saying things to appeal to the au-
dience and making Mark look bad,
and Mark is so out of his element,”
senior Emma Dutcher said.
“Mark is the butt of the joke
always,” Cox agreed. “He has to
resort to calling Christy a liar.”
Audience members also can
expect to find allusions to the
Watergate scandal, the “birther”
conspiracy, words getting twisted
out of context and antagonistic
candidate debates.
“Anything that has come up
in politics is pretty much in this,”
Dutcher said. “It’s ridiculous.”
Meanwhile, her character, Kyli,
the student broadcasting system re-
porter, is always hovering nearby,
covering the outrageous process
and milking its entertainment value
to please her viewers, Dutcher
said.
“It’s definitely timely because
there are a lot of parallels to what’s
happening right now, and you
definitely see a lot of current can-
didates and past presidents in this
show,” Cox said.
Director Lenore Morrisson spe-
cifically chose “The
Election,” because of
its comedic take on
the contemporary po-
litical scene and rele-
vance to the upcom-
ing 2016 presidential
election, scheduled
for Tuesday, Nov. 8.
“All elections
are sort of the same,
right?” Morrisson
said. “They say
they’re going to run a
clean campaign, and
pretty soon some-
one’s running an ad,
saying, ‘He’s a puppy
killer.’ It’s just kind
of ridiculous.”
Morrisson said she
believed the students
would appreciate the
play’s relevance and
enjoy presenting the
satire, and so far, they
have. Junior Jacob
Brien, who plays Mark’s geeky
but lovable sidekick, Karl Merri-
weather, said the best part of what
is his inaugural theater experience
is “making people laugh.” While
he is disdainful of politics in
PHOTO BY KATHERINE LACAZE
The cast and crew for Seaside High School’s fall play “The Election” are pre-
paring to open Nov. 4.
general — “it’s just unpleasant,”
he explained — he finds the play
to be an optimal opportunity to ex-
press his diverse humor and have
fun with other cast members. He
expects it will be an equally enjoy-
able experience for the audience.
While there isn’t much of an
educational component to the play
— audience members won’t leave
with a better understanding of the
electoral college — the play will
afford a little comedic relief at the
expense of the election process,
outrageous political figures and
how the media can fuel the fire.
“Politics are scary,” Dutcher
said, adding she would encourage
everyone in the community to
“come have a laugh with us poking
fun at politics.”
Brien agreed.
“If you’re someone who gets
really into politics and you watch
it a lot, and it kind of stresses you
a little bit, watching the play may
ease it up and take some of that
weight off your back — just to put
it back on when you go watch it
again,” he said.
In addition to Cox, Dutcher
and Brien, students Emil Mat-
lock and Jack Stapleton round
out the core cast playing Mark
Davenport and Gary McMaster,
respectively. They are supported
by fellow players Dakota Young,
Cat Walgren, Phoenix Miller,
Annie Stafford, Max McNeill,
Nolan Milliren, Gretchen Hoek-
stre, Michael Matthews, Stephanie
Anderson, Gwen Farrar and Alan
Brockman. The tech crew consists
of Daniel Contier, Will Kautz and
Jessica Almaguer. Kelsey Crider
is the lead costumer, and Craig
Shepherd is in charge of the set
production and design.
The play will be performed at
7 p.m. Nov. 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 at
Seaside High School. Doors open
at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for gen-
eral admission and $3 for students
with their ASB card.
For more information, call the
school at 503-738-5586.