Parkway West Students Grapple With Humor in 'The Importance of Being Earnest'

At first, the puns didn't come so easily. Director Amie Gossett said from time to time, she had to stop the young actors in the middle of a scene and tell them what they just said was a joke. It's not always easy to recognize moments of wit in a script that's more than a century old, but the  students have the punch lines down now.

The humor in The Importance of Being Earnest is what several of the lead characters said they love the most about the show. Every rehearsal they discovered a new joke as they watched each other deliver lines, sophomore Rebecca Bouchard, who plays Cecily Cardew, said. 

"The dialogue is just so dynamic and confusing," Gossett said. "Once they started picking up on the humor, their characters exploded off the page."

The cast has worked since Jan. 10 to develop the over-the-top characters in Oscar Wilde's lively and entertaining Victorian farce about fictitious identities. While learning their characters, the tight-knit group of five leads grew closer. The quick pace of the script carries over into their interactions offstage as they jump on the tails of each other's sentences. Though they all knew each other before, they've never come together like this, junior Abigail English, who plays Gwendolen Fairfax, said. 

"All of us have gotten to know not only the characters, but ourselves and each other," English said as several of her castmates nodded.

"I couldn't imagine anyone else being in this cast," Bouchard added. She said it was easy to connect with English, both personally and as characters. But the fast friendship posed a minor problem at times.

"At the same time, it can be hard. Like in the 'tea scene,' we know we're nice people, so being angry isn't easy," Bouchard said, referring to a scene where Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax fight during an afternoon tea service. 

Aside from the puns, the play posed another problem. Because it's set in England in 1895, the cast has tried to master English accents. They each took a different approach. Junior George Napper, who plays Algernon Moncreif, said he read other period literature to get in the spirit of the play. English said she tried watching a lot of film adaptations of Jane Austen novels. Sophomore Keith Taveras, of Manchester, who plays John Worthing, said he listened to dialect CDs. Sophomore Abby Narishkin went straight to the source. Her dad's best friend is from England, so she used Skype, an online telephone and video chat service, to ask him how to pronounce specific words.

"He'd say 'Hertfordshire,' and then I'd repeat it, and he'd be like 'No, no, no,Hartfrdshir,' " Narishkin said.

Several snow days threatened the play this year; the time off from school also meant time away from rehearsal. Ultimately, the decision was made to move opening night back a week so the cast and crew would have enough time to perfect their roles.

This week is the first time they've run through the show from beginning to end without stopping, the cast members said. But, they're not too concerned about Friday's performance. The girls hope they don't trip on or rip their dresses. And Napper said he's a bit worried about eating all the snacks his character always seems to be munching on. Mainly, though, they're excited to hear a theater full of laughter at all the right times. 

"I think we need an audience now," English said.

 opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Parkway West High School, 14653 Clayton Rd, Ballwin. Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for students. Call (314) 415-5517 for ticket reservations.