Rachel Guetta ’13
Copy Editor and Staff Writer

Actors sprinting down the hallway in costumes, doors to the auditorium opening and shutting and costume changes everywhere. Makeup applicators scattered across the floor, and hints of 1950s apparel, floral dresses and men’s hats, lining the hallway.

This describes a fraction of the business that Staples Players has faced as a result of the recent nor’easter.

The deadly storm had significant effects on Westport: loss of life, loss of property, the destruction of homes and the inconvenience of a town without power. Obviously, a high school play does not compare to the death of a woman or significant damage to Westport, but for a program that has worked so hard, the storm has had its own effects on Players’ production of Little Shop of Horrors.

“We’re cramming,” Clay Singer ’13 said.

With the first performance planned for Friday March 19, Players has been trying to fit in rehearsals to make up for the days off school. They’ve worked around the power outage at Staples, and found other places and times to rehearse.

One practice was held at Saugatuck Elementary School and another was called with very short notice on March 17. Players received a call right around 8:00 p.m. that they were to report to Staples for a rehearsal that would last until 11:00 p.m. Sleeping in for the last morning of CAPT tests on March 18 was replaced by an extra rehearsal.

Little Shop of Horrors is still on track for opening at 7:30 p.m. on March 19, and the loss of rehearsal time isn’t predicted to harm the result of it.

“The show will still be really good” Singer said.

Despite the stress of spontaneous and frantic rehearsals, Players has channeled their energy in a positive way.

“It’s stressful, but it’s what we love and we keep a positive attitude,” Tyler Jent ’13 said.