Around the World in 8 Plays? Monday, December 20, 2010 By Sophomore Daniel Sloan Such a big globe! Are Bernardo and Isabel compensating for something? - Derek Williams Advertising What literary work comes to mind when a sentence begins with the phrase “Around the World in (insert word here)”? For most people, the Jules Vern classic, Around the World in Eighty Days is the first and foremost book to come to mind. This is not the case anymore with the student cast members of the newest Cameron High School Play, Around the World in 8 Plays. The auditions for the spring play, which normally take place in late January, were  December 15, 2010. Around the World in 8 Plays has little, if anything, to do with the classic tale, Around the World in Eighty Days, so the title is mostly for style points. Drama Honor Society President Dominic Brazeel said, “This play is about two gypsies who go around selling plays for a living. They have a bunch of actors that the plays use, so they (act) for a lot of people. The show is a heavy comedy and  it is a lot like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.”  Frequent CHS theatre goers will recall the comedy version of Canterbury Tales on stage just two years ago.   Dominic wanted to give more details, but he also wanted to keep the show a surprise so he decided not to comment to much more on the play, but Dominic did add this little tid-bit, “Bernardo (the male-lead) rips off a lot of people. In my favorite of the 8 plays, a little girl with a teddy bear wants a story with a teddy bear (in it) and he rips her off and the story does not have a teddy bear. He basically says ‘suck it up.’” Students of all high school ages were more than willing to comment on the audition process. Freshman Alyssa Mercer said, “I was pretty nervous at first but it actually was not as bad as the upperclassmen were trying to psyche me out into thinking it was.” This was Alyssa’s first audition in the Cameron Drama Department, so she would think that she had as much reason to be nervous as anyone would, however, in reality,  she had no reason to be nervous as she ended up with the part of Grandmother. Any role is a good role for a first time cast member. Alyssa said earlier, “Any of the female narrators would be the role I would really like to have.” Alyssa, however, expressed a good measure of gratitude over the Grandmother role. Freshman Lizzie Redding was also very excited about auditions. Lizzie said, “This is the first time I have ever been in a play. I was really nervous at first, but everybody kept telling me it would be fine. I did not even care which part I got, I just really wanted to be in a play.” Some of the staff at Cameron High School are getting pretty excited for this play as well. Special Education Teacher K-12 Pat Steele said, “I have been to the Cameron High School production(s) of Honk, Rags to Riches, Little Shop of Horrors, High School Musical, and  the Hunchback of Notre Dame. My favorite was Little Shop, but they were all wonderful. I would really like to see the new play. I have heard the kids in the hallway talking about it. I love to see the talent we have here. I remember little Pauline Santos singing the first time I saw her. I thought, ‘She can really barrel those notes out for someone so little’. ” Miss Steele has been to a lot of the play/musicals here at Cameron High School, so you can trust her honest words. With seven weeks to practice after getting back from winter break, the students of the Cameron Drama Department will be hard at work getting everything together. Wish them well a they attempt to perform Around the World in 8 Plays with only 7 weeks of practice!

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