As leaves on trees start to fall, the Carl Sandburg Performing Arts Center comes back to life. It’s finally autumn, and that means it’s time for this year’s Fall Play. On October 16, 17, and 18 at 7pm, cast, crew, and production team come together to present The Giver, with tickets available for purchase on GoFan. The play is based on the popular book by Lois Lowry, and is a familiar story for many.
In direct contrast to last year’s Dearly Departed, set in previous decades, The Giver explores a dystopian society. In a world dedicated to sameness, Jonas, the protagonist, is allowed a look into a world resembling ours. The Giver shows him a place full of color, emotion, and choice, but in exchange, Jonas experiences immeasurable pain—and only he can decide if it is worth it.
“I was very conscientious of the show that I chose,” explains Ms. Nerius, director of the Fall Play. “Something that had a good combination of appropriate and recognizable to younger audiences without it being a kid show.”
While The Giver is known and loved as a children’s book, it tackles more intense themes. This allows for the play to attract a wider range of audiences, while still allowing for a more mature interpretation and appreciation.
Within the cast, there is much collaboration. Maggie Moran, junior, states how “it’s really nice to be in a cast that’s willing to give it their all for everything.” A close knit cast has developed and amplifies the emotion onstage. Bouncing ideas off of each other is common as well, especially since The Giver provides a lot of room for interpretation; where the story goes and how it is presented is very intentional.

That intention circles back to production, cast, and crew alike. Choosing the presentation of each character and set is imperative in conveying the right tone. Also, the show is very technical, playing with color and light throughout, so there is a unique challenge to building its environment on the stage.
Nerius is also working towards, “redefining what it means to be part of the fall play.” This includes expanding that definition from just cast and crew to a larger production crew. There has been continued interest in students being able to aid in costumes and makeup, and with a production crew this is now possible.
More parts of the production are put in students’ hands, and this extends to using more of the Performing Arts Center’s facilities. Nerius mentioned how previously a lot of tech was rented out, but now students have the opportunity to learn and explore Sandburg’s own sound and light systems.

“I’m definitely looking forward to doing our tech and our lighting,” said senior Laurie Nelson, a crew member. After building sets for the play, the crew’s next challenge becomes lighting and sound. Nelson explains that the first step is “understanding what we need and what we don’t, and where we need to be for tech week.”
“Tech week” is the term for the week of the show, where all the little bits and pieces, like mics and light cues, fall into place and the vision of the show is eventually realized.
But for all its technicalities and details, it’s the people that create the soul of the show. Mrs. Elliot, an assistant director, commented, “It’s really awesome to see how passionate [everyone is] about doing this,” observing the strong community that has been built during The Giver — a community looking to expand.
Nerius wishes that more people knew that theater “is there for everyone and anyone.” She feels that everyone has something to gain from it, and has a place in the program.
Abby Farrar, a sophomore on production crew, recounts how she got involved, saying, “I was having a bad day, I showed up just asking if I could sit in the PAC until the bus came because I didn’t feel like being in a loud open space… And then I was immediately just pulled in, and here I am.”
So, now is the chance to join this community as an audience member! Join the cast and crew for an evening with The Giver on October 16, 17, or 18 to experience the final product of weeks of hard work and dive into dystopia.