Museum
at Santa Margarita Catholic

Reviewed on October 28, 2015

Claudia Mansoory
Tesoro
Submitted for publication to OC Register

Santa Margarita's Museum is a work of art

Claudia Mansoory is a senior at Tesoro High School in Las Flores


A museum guard slowly flicks on light after bright white light to illuminate a serene museum exhibit littered with art pieces. From blank white canvases to a massive whalebone structure suspended from the ceiling, each piece is refreshingly unique. Similarly, each patron who enters the museum is delightfully distracting in his or her own distinct way. With vibrant characters and flawlessly executed technical elements, Santa Margarita Catholic High School's production of ‘Museum' is remarkably engaging from start to finish.

Evan Meeks is stern and commanding as the museum's guard, the one voice of reason amidst the chaos that unfolds in the exhibit. Standing with shoulders back and chin held high, Meeks exudes dominance as he navigates the exhibit with uniform steps, taking sharp turns around pedestals and benches. In response to the wild characters that float in and out of the exhibit, Meeks often raises his eyebrows and lets out weary sighs of frustration.

Dylan Field and Drew Schlingman form a hilariously flamboyant duo as Bob Lamb and Will Willard respectively. The two react to the artwork with knitted eyebrows and exaggerated gasps, making pretentious comments with their nasally voices. At one point, overwhelmed by the art, Field draws his hand to his forehead and falls in a melodramatic faint. With an overly worried expression, Schlingman quickly fans his partner with a museum brochure.

With wide eyes and a maniacal smile, Lauren McNair delivers a startling performance as Tink Solheim, a wild art fanatic. Transfixed with excitement, she grabs a small, earthy sculpture and holds it tightly to her face, sniffing and inhaling deeply. Suddenly, McNair leaps atop a bench, reaching high and squatting low as she shares a strange story about the exhibit's artist.

The show is set in the 1970s, and costume design reflects this with ease. Designers Nikki Adhami and Gabby Romero excellently pair each actor with a 1970s style that fits their character. Field and Schlingman's flamboyant characters wear tight sweaters and plaid pants with coordinating ascots, while McNair, playing free spirited Tink, wears typical hippie garb, complete with bell-bottoms and a headband.

Set design, by Judith Clayton, allows for a completely immersive experience. With laminated wood flooring under their feet, audience members sit on museum benches mere inches from the action.

With stunning technical elements and engaging characters, Santa Margarita's ‘Museum' is truly a work of art.

Justine Halas
Tesoro
Submitted for publication to OC Register

Discover Your Inner Artist with Santa Margarita's Museum

Justine Halas is a senior at Tesoro High School in Las Flores



White walls, wood floors and washed out lighting transform a small black box theater into a modern art exhibit. This is the setting for Santa Margarita's comical and lively production of ‘Museum'.

Set in the 1970's, this satire on how people perceive art is very interactive and realistic. Stereotypes of all kinds of personalities enter and exit the museum doors, all stopping and examining the art in their own way. Audience members are seated throughout the exhibit, enabling them to get up close and personal with the art in the museum and the characters themselves.

Lively personalities contrast the art pieces on display. The first to enter the museum is the museum's guard played by Evan Meeks. He begins the play by turning the lights on and opening the exhibit. He anchors the show, quieting unruly guests with a tight lip and furrowed brow. Throughout the show he can be found rocking in the corner, keeping to himself as each new face enters the room.

Dylan Field and Drew Schlingman are Bob Lamb and Will Willard, a dynamic duo that brings humor to the stage. Pretentious and emotional, they are often seen running across the room, fawning over the art and gasping at their latest revelation. Their wide eyes, cocked hips and upturned chins outwardly display their passion for the arts.

Lauren McNair as Tink Solheim steals the stage with her wild eyes and grand gestures. As she picks up the art, rubbing it on her face and running from the guards, she becomes animalistic. She crouches and hides while telling a story of her time with the artist. Her screeching voice and shaking body command every set of eyes in the room and leave us wondering what she will attempt next.

The costume design by Nikki Adhami and Gabby Romero heightens each character's personality while staying true to the time period. From the solid black, tan and red tones of the older French couple to the muted pastels and floral prints of the elderly women, the costumes add to the story and detail of each character.

The elaborate and realistic set designed by Judith Clayton and the passionate acting allow Santa Margarita's Museum to transcend time and remind us how often life and art collide.

Jana Phillips
St. Margaret's Episcopal
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

The ‘Museum's' eccentric exhibition at Santa Margarita


Jana Philips is a Junior at St. Margaret's Episcopal in San Juan Capistrano.

Every museum exhibition has its quirks, as well as its own set of peculiar visitors, and Santa Margarita's ‘Museum' is no exception. Set in the late 1970s, ‘Museum' showcases a modern art exhibition titled ‘The Broken Silence.' An immersive style production, where the audience is seated among the actors while they are performing, the show displays both the eccentricities of art and artists, as well as museum-goers as they struggle to interpret the meaning of the art they see.

For the entire cast, it is the actors' attention to details – whether it is a distinctive raised eyebrow as with Michelle Wall (Sabrina Boyd) or a hunched back and stalking walk as with Peter Ziff (Ryan McLaughlin) – that creates entirely believable characters. Moreover, the actors are commendable in the way they continue to interact with each other, the plot, and the set even when the focus is not on them. Actors even retain character as they interact face to face with individual audience members.

Lauren McNair, playing Tink Solheim, is particularly exceptional at this. She retains her maniacal body language and the crazed look in her eyes even as she comes up to audience members mere inches from their faces.

Makeup by Faith Quigley is also essential in making each character individual and unique. From young adults with a simpler makeup concept to old ladies with wrinkles covering their faces and bruises on their arms, makeup establishes a distinction between every age range.

Costuming by Nikki Adhami and Gabby Romero utilizes stereotypes to establish a character before the actors even open their mouths. The costumes also draw parallels between the characters. For instance, a complimentary scheme of blues and yellow ties the couples, Bob Lamb (Dylan Field) and Will Willard (Drew Schlingman) with Barbara Castle (Hannah Baker) and Barbara Zimmer (Baylee Corona), together as they voice similar opinions in an all-knowing sort of tone. Likewise, one of the humanoid figures in a construction piece wears the same ensemble as the artist Steve Williams (Drew Schlingman), tying the artist to his art.

It is the attention to detail, both in the acting, as well as in the technical elements, that makes this production truly amazing.