By Helen, Teen Portal Staff Writer
Lend your eyes and ears to an award-winning theatre performance, presented by the Yorktown Theatre Department, this Thursday at 7 pm at Kenmore Middle School. “The Imaginary Invalid,” performed by Yorktown Theatre students, won first place in the district competition of the Virginia High School League (VHSL) One-Act Theatre Arts Festival on Jan. 22 Following the free performance on Thursday night (a bonus run for those who missed it at Yorktown), the show will move on to the regional VHSL competition this upcoming Saturday.
The 17th Century play, translated originally from French, is about a hypochondriac miser. His name is Argan and he has these about being ill. Argan is really dutiful in the sense that he strictly follows his doctor’s orders, taking whatever the man prescribes him. But this doctor is actually milking Argan of his hypochondria for all its worth.
Meanwhile, Argan wants his daughter, Angelique, to go off and wed a doctor, so that he can receive free medical “care.” However, the plot thickens, because Angelique is already in love with another man, Cleante.
Argan’s brother, Beralde, and his maid, Toinette, come up with an interesting way to “heal” Argan’s intense fixation on doctors. Their approach ends up with a lot of surprises, for Argan, his daughter and the audience.
Although “The Imaginary Invalid” is originally a French piece written by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known as Molière, the Yorktown Theatre Department decided to take things into their own hands. The play is done in an Italian-style theatre performance, complete with masks, larger-than-life archetypal characters, and stylized movement.
I had a quick Q&A session with one of my friends, Raphael Regan, who happens to be acting in “The Imaginary Invalid”. Here’s what he has to say:
What character do you play?
Monsieur de’ Bonnefoy.
How do you like acting in this play? “
I love it, its so much fun. I enjoy working with everyone in the cast and crew. It’s an amazing learning experience
How do you feel about moving on to regionals?
I’m really excited but overwhelmed. I’m excited because we made first place at districts but overwhelmed because we have a tough competition ahead of us.
Why should people come to see the Kenmore show Thursday night at 7pm?
Because it’s a fantastic, amazing, extraordinary, beautiful show. At the end of the performance, there will be a Q&A period in which the audience can ask questions about the show; especially about the Comedia dell’Arte theatre style we apply to the show. IT’S ALSO FREE.
So make sure to stop by Kenmore to spend a mere half hour and enjoy lively theatre. Yorktown is the best known theatre department in the county, so you shouldn’t miss out on a great play that’s moving on to a regional competition!
