The Skin of Our Teeth
at St. Margaret's Episcopal

Reviewed on October 17, 2015

Siena Brown
SOCSA Dana Hills
Submitted for publication to OC Register

St. Margaret's sheds its "Skin"

Siena Brown is a senior at SOCS Dana Hills High School

Imagine outlasting an Ice Age, a worldwide flood, and the most devastating war in history: just another day for the Antrobuses, a not-so-typical family flourishing in suburban 1940's New Jersey. What this extraordinary family doesn't realize is that the biggest challenge they will ever have to overcome is hiding where they'd least expect it: within themselves.

St. Margaret's thought-provoking production of Thornton Wilder's "The Skin Of Our Teeth" follows this ordinary family as they outrun the end of the world multiple times. As they cling together amidst devastation, the Antrobuses realize that in order to stay together, they will have to look past the façade of their "perfect" family, and see each other as they truly are.

As the confident Mr. Antrobus, Tyler Ashman projects with a broad and theatrical voice, and throws his arms out in sharp, direct lines. However, when forced to face the dire truth of his family's situation, Ashman communicates the character's confidence draining away, as his arms fall limply to his sides and his voice softens to a restless murmur.

With a soft melodic tone as soothing as a lullaby, Shelby Nicholas's Mrs. Antrobus establishes herself as a loving and protective mother. But when her family is at risk, she becomes vicious and cold, flinging her arms about wildly as her face contorts into a menacing scowl.

Heather Nielsen plays Sabina, the seductive and manipulative family maid: she slinks around with languid ease, swiveling her hips and draping herself across the set. Nielsen's slow, wispy voice is reminiscent of a silver screen femme fatale. However, in the face of danger, she reveals herself as a woman of practicality and strength, maintaining a straight back and steady gait.

As the Antrobuses' son Henry, Jaden Cloobeck is introduced as awkward but lovable, tripping over his words and stumbling around the stage with a wide, goofy grin. However, as Henry grows up, he becomes cruel and unfeeling, manifested by Cloobeck's stiff posture and deep, growling voice.

The costumes, designed by Hailey Hageman, show the changing personalities of the characters. The Antrobus family begins the show with delicate pastel shades that fade to ashy hues as the characters reveal their true natures.

St. Margaret's newest show is a poignant piece suggesting that to truly understand humanity, one must accept others, flaws and all: the truth is never just skin-deep.

Carley Christerson
La Habra
Submitted for publication to OC Register

A storm brewing at St. Margaret's Episcopal

Carley Christerson is a senior at La Habra High School

Ice and fire. Reality and illusion. Hope and despair. Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Skin of Our Teeth" presents a world of paradoxes that St. Margaret's artfully addresses in their latest production.

Convincingly set against a traditional 1940's backdrop, St. Margaret's rendition of this dark comedy showcases the regression of humanity during an Ice Age, a flood, and a war through the eyes of the dysfunctional Antrobus family. As reality mingles with playacting, and history with modernity, St. Margaret's delivers a performance that stirs emotions and prompts personal penitence.

Heather Nielsen exudes confidence as the impertinent, gregarious Sabina, the Antrobus maid and smoldering temptress. Nielsen seamlessly leaps between portrayals of a cynical actress and an impish, willowy housemaid as she actively engages the audience through direct interaction and provides insight into the redundancy of history. Employing a filmy, smoke-like voice that harkens images of age-old screen sirens, Nielsen generates an aura of flippancy through precocious diction and a smooth, tinkling, contagious laugh.

Shelby Nicholas, whose devotion to her character is apparent through unconquerably high levels of energy and vigor, portrays the high-strung Mrs. Antrobus. A passionate homemaker exuberant in her efforts to shield her family from moral decay, Nicholas's frequent outbursts of alternating affection and fury, as well as the purposely frenzied clicks of her heels against the floor, perfectly capture the tense atmosphere surrounding the home.

Henry Antrobus, played by Jaden Cloobeck, impeccably demonstrates the hardening effects of fate, war, and loss of innocence on human nature. Utilizing exaggerated, hyperactive gesticulations and juvenile facial expressions to portray a child who does not realize his own strength, Cloobeck rapidly transforms into an agitated, aggressive adult returned from battle, struggling between the desire to be loved and the desire to be feared.

Live screening during the production, giving the illusion of a television broadcast on stage, melds modern technology with history to create a complex juxtaposition of human advancement and history that is central to the theme of the play.

Eclectic yet melancholy, witty yet startlingly poignant, St. Margaret's "The Skin of Our Teeth" places a dark but comic spin on the foibles of mankind. With a level of authenticity and depth rarely seen in high school theatre, the cast and crew of St. Margaret's guides the production through flood, fate, and folly, with marvelous results.

Miranda Wolford
SOCSA Dana Hills
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

St. Margaret's enthralls with 'Skin of Our Teeth'

Miranda Wolford is a Junior at SOCSA Dana Hills High School

With a wall of ice on the horizon, a calamitous hurricane swirling overhead, and a mysterious war ever so imminent, the true strength of family is tested in St. Margaret's Episcopal School's production of Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth."

Satirizing the illustrious ideal of the perfect family, the Antrobuses are far from flawless, with a murderous son and a cantankerous mother to prove so. Yet, in the face of hardship, they manage to weather the storm and emerge as a united front.

Leading the dark comedy as the iron-willed "everyman" is Mr. Antrobus. The character erupts into bouts of anger and strays from his own morality, but Tyler Ashman's mature portrayal ensures that audiences still sympathize with his struggle to mend his family. Through his poignant breakdown and intense loyalty to his family, Ashman humanizes Mr. Antrobus, shedding light on the character's more emotional side.

Contrasting Mr. Antrobus's cold demeanor with her own motherly warmth, Mrs. Antrobus (Shelby Nicholas) serves as the glue keeping this family together. Whether it is giving her last baked potato to her famished son or making sure her daughter's dress is perfectly pressed, Nicholas appeals to the audience's pathos with her endless love for her children, playing her part with a maturity and believability beyond her years.

Sauntering around with a feather-duster and not a care in the world, Sabina (Heather Nielsen), the mischievous yet well-meaning maid of the household, adds an element of lighthearted humor to the otherwise dark satire with her impeccable comedic timing and sultry charisma. At first glance, she seems petty and materialistic in her girlish crush on Mr. Antrobus and melodramatic fear of death, but as the show progresses, the true depth of her character is revealed through her resilience in the face of hardship.

The costume and hair/makeup designers (Hailey Hageman, Mitra Alikhani) communicate the image of this "perfect" family through the impeccably fitted dresses and timely hairdo's. Hageman and her team excel in their attention to detail in dressing the family to fit each precarious situation they face, from Sabina's dirtied overalls after the war to the fitted suit Mr. Antrobus dons in his victory speech.

The cast and crew of St. Margaret's give new truth to the endurance of family, even if it's by "The Skin of our Teeth."