It has been so long since we have been able to gather in the theatre together and watch the lights dim for a stage production, but on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m., many members of the Hamilton community did just that and were greeted with an amazing experience. The opening night of Hamilton College’s production

10 out of 12

, written by Anne Washburn and directed by Professor Craig Latrell, was a smooth success and a welcome reentry into the experience of live theatre.

The show gave audience members a completely immersive experience. Upon entering the Romano Theatre — a blackbox style theatre built in 2014 — audience members were shocked to find that a much smaller theatre had been constructed within the Romano. Amongst the bleachers for the audience, there were three cluttered desks with what looked like sound and light controls. Once the audience had taken their seats, they were prompted to put on provided headphones. Light tropical music played from these headphones, which the audience enjoyed as they mingled with those around them and waited for the show to begin.

Soon enough, voices came through the headphones, informing the audience that the play would be the story of a production’s tech rehearsal and all that goes into preparing a production for its opening night. Once the play truly began, actors slowly filled the aforementioned desks cluttered with technology, playing tech members of the in-play production. These pseudo-tech members, as well as the pseudo-crew constructing the stage, all wore headphones with mics and used them to communicate with each other, and the audience heard all of their dialogue from their own headsets. The audience was then immediately pulled into the world of the show, hearing minute details of behind-the-scenes happenings, including the set designer searching for an exact-o knife, the stage manager growing angry when she could not locate actors and the hilarious director — who had an extreme battle with a theatre exit light — picking apart any production detail he could find. The actors who played the actors in the fictional show each had their own individual quirks and were extremely entertaining, exemplifying the stress and annoyance of a tech rehearsal when no one is properly prepared.

While the actors showcased their performance talents in the fictional theatre, the characters of the director, assistant director and costume designer played their roles from the audience bleachers. Like the audience, these characters watched the tech rehearsal unfold before them, but these characters alone had the privilege of leaving their seats to interact with the characters onstage. The audience watched two storylines unfold: the tech rehearsal and the characters’ personal lives, and the story of the fictional play rehearsed by every character in the actual play.

The narrative was not the only complex element of

10 out of 12

; the physical makings of the production itself were extremely intricate. Its set included many doors, spinning walls and props, while its light design was just as elaborate, featuring multiple colors, blacklights and floodlights. In addition, the sound effects established an other-worldly atmosphere, which contributed to the feeling that the audience was intruding on an intimate production.

10 out of 12

was an amazing theatrical experience and was well-welcomed after a long hiatus from live performance. The cast and crew of Hamilton students performed beautifully with such a difficult piece. For those who missed the first showings, there is still time to watch this show, as there are performances for it on Nov. 12, and 13. Students can purchase discounted tickets online!