Bishop Gorman’s Gaels Theater Guild’s first astounding Black Box production of the school year, 12 Angry Jurors, hit the stage from September 19th to the 22nd.
Based on the film from the 1950s, 12 Angry Men tells the captivating story of what went down in a jury room right after a murder case where a young man is accused of murdering his father. All twelve jury members must come to a unanimous decision on whether the boy is guilty or not guilty, a decision that turns out to be extremely difficult to make.
The Gaels Theater Guild put endless time and effort into the production. Director Ms. Lemos told The Lance, “I like to choose plays that typically have one setting when it comes to the Black Box, but also really powerful, emotionally driven plays because it’s such an intimate space and the audience is so close up.”
She explained how students rehearsed for hours nearly everyday since the beginning of school, working on blocking, getting lines down, and most importantly, pace.
“The entirety of the play is really just talking around a table, and if they don’t have that quick pace it can feel very long and boring,” Ms. Lemos said.
The cast and crew had their goals set for their four days of performances at Bishop Gorman’s Tim Poster Black Box. “What’s truly a successful show is not a perfect show. That’s the kind of beauty of live theater, it doesn’t have to go perfectly to feel good,” Ms. Lemos said. “But when everyone is truly listening and is truly captivated by the story telling, that’s definitely a bonus.”
And from the sounds of it, that success is exactly what this past weekend looked like for the Gaels Theater Guild. Sophomore Malaya Lett-Jackson went to go check out 12 Angry Jurors herself, and came back with nothing but positive feedback. “The play was more engaging than any other I’d seen, and I was able to stay interested the whole time,” Lett-Jackson ‘27 said.
She described how the audience had reactions of surprise and interest as the plot continued to build, and how interesting it was to be right up close to all of the action. Lett-Jackson also commented on the pacing of the play, something the cast worked their hardest to perfect. “The pace kept you on the edge of your seat and also kept you engaged, while still letting you process everything that was happening without it being rushed at you,” she said.
There’s no doubt that this play was an exciting way to start out the theater productions for the year. Not just for the Bishop Gorman community to go watch, but also for the students that were involved.
“It’s kind of awesome,” Lemos said. “What I love seeing through the process is the students themselves realizing that they can play the role, and that they are making an impact on the audience.”
Megan Huckabay ‘28 stated, “I can’t wait to see what The Gaels Theater Guild has in store for the rest of the school year.”