On February 8th and 9th, Cypress Theatre introduced its second show of the year with a Cypress spin-off of the play That’s Not How I Remember It. Set on a couple during the early years of Cypress’ opening, the show left guests in high spirits with a storyline from the past. Ms. Stewart’s backstage crew from her Stagecraft class helped with the set production.
The show began with an elderly couple, retelling the story of how they met in Cypress fifty years ago to their grandson in two completely different views. Lola, played by Savannah Shaddow, recalls when she met Barry played by Jude De Leon. Younger Lola (Grandma’s Version) played by Emily Martin recalls how Younger Barry (Grandma’s Version) played by Dorian Carillo Ferrer was perceived as an outcast who would be thrilled if any girl looked remotely his way. Whereas Barry’s side of the story recalls Barry (Grandpa’s Version) played by Leo Aispuro to be a karate legend who would have girls swoon for him left and right all while having Lola (Grandpa’s Version) played by Arina Matiesu be one of those girls. Throughout the show, the two dispute over the definite story of the past and the factual events of how they met.
In addition to having students–Kristen Cheng and Ailica Park make sure the original script by Don Zoldis fit the scene in the 70s, the costume crew had to make sure that the costumes would also be up to date. With the help of Cypress’ Health Technician Mrs. Kathy Binford, actors were allowed to borrow an original cheerleader outfit. Aispuro shares, “…[we had] the original Cypress High School cheerleader uniform–because she [Mrs. Binford] was a cheerleader and so she still had her outfit…” Along with the help from Mrs. Binford, yearbooks also played a part in finding the right outfits to match the atmosphere of the show.
Rehearsals helped both actors and the backstage crew get a feel of what to expect for show nights. In addition to the numerous complex scenes,
the fight scenes between Barry (Grandpa’s Version) and Karl (Grandpa’s Version) played by Noelle Lee were claimed to be the most difficult scenes to rehearse. Unlike the prior theatre show–Clue, rather than having most of the main actors in the same class period and getting to practice some of the crucial scenes with each other, this show had actors from other class periods–making the time they had together limited with only having two days a week to work with each other. As a result of the limited time made available, actors had to make sure that they knew how to communicate with each other on particular scenes that would require more revising. Another way some actors did to prepare for their role was by simply asking for a friend to help out. Junior–Jude De Leon mentions, “A big thing that I did was that I made my friends read my lines in front of me…every time I would have to prepare for a cue then I would make them read the cue before it and I would memorize my lines.”
That’s Not How I Remember It was a show that left the audience filled with nostalgia and comforted by the jokes made. Laughter filled the room as the elderly couple traveled around the stage recalling their teenage years in Cypress High School.
