Dark of the Moon
at San Juan Hills High School

Reviewed on November 2, 2016

Andrew Senkowski
Santa Margarita Catholic High School
Submitted for publication to OC Varsity Arts

San Juan Hills Shines in Dark of the Moon
written by Andrew Senkowski, a junior at Santa Margarita Catholic High School

With love, loss, and longing, San Juan Hills High School presents Dark of the Moon, a story similar to Romeo and Juliet, set in the Appalachian Mountains during the 1800's. This dramatic play follows the Witch Boy John and the beautiful human girl Barbara Allen as they fall in love and try to survive in an intolerant mountain village, with folk cultural influences and a brooding Appalachian environment.

Noah Salviati sets himself apart as John the Witch Boy, with staccato movements and a smoldering glare that instills just the right amount of discomfort in his counterparts. Kaily Johnson as his lover, Barbara Allen, exhibits a range of emotions from her initial joy with John to her eventual devastation without him.

Anam Faruqi and Calista Henson as the eerie Dark and Fair Witches slither solicitously as they tempt John and threaten the Conjur Man (Adam Wright). Uncle Smelicue, played by Brent Arciniega, is a talented storyteller with comedic timing, demanding attention as he prances around the townspeople and explodes with energy in his action and voice. These actors and the ensemble glow on stage in addition to the student technical elements.

The minimalist set design from Rose Krol matches the simple story perfectly, showing the lack of complexity and privacy between the townspeople. Krol achieves this through wall-less rooms and a mountain made of tinfoil that reflects the lighting by Julia Gordon. Her lighting design effectively draws out the mood of the scene, utilizing shades of charcoal grays, cool greens, and vibrant purples, and she creates the scene's atmosphere, such as by shifting from a stark yellow on the villagers' party to an ominous red in the church's chilling congregation.

Connor Rose also exhibits his musical expertise by adding an original score based on the Appalachian folk ballads that influenced the play. Rose infuses this cheerful music with dark lyrics to match the cheerful village community's inclusion of John the Witch Boy's dark narrative.

San Juan Hills High School clearly has talent in its cast and crew, and in their performance of Dark of the Moon, the students' acting and design choices elevate this play to somewhere as high as the moon itself.

Andrew Senkowski
Santa Margarita Catholic High School
Submitted for publication to OC Varsity Arts

San Juan Hills Shines in Dark of the Moon
written by Andrew Senkowski, a junior at Santa Margarita Catholic High School

With love, loss, and longing, San Juan Hills High School presents Dark of the Moon, a story similar to Romeo and Juliet, set in the Appalachian Mountains during the 1800's. This dramatic play follows the Witch Boy John and the beautiful human girl Barbara Allen as they fall in love and try to survive in an intolerant mountain village, with folk cultural influences and a brooding Appalachian environment.

Noah Salviati sets himself apart as John the Witch Boy, with staccato movements and a smoldering glare that instills just the right amount of discomfort in his counterparts. Kaily Johnson as his lover, Barbara Allen, exhibits a range of emotions from her initial joy with John to her eventual devastation without him.

Anam Faruqi and Calista Henson as the eerie Dark and Fair Witches slither solicitously as they tempt John and threaten the Conjur Man (Adam Wright). Uncle Smelicue, played by Brent Arciniega, is a talented storyteller with comedic timing, demanding attention as he prances around the townspeople and explodes with energy in his action and voice. These actors and the ensemble glow on stage in addition to the student technical elements.

The minimalist set design from Rose Krol matches the simple story perfectly, showing the lack of complexity and privacy between the townspeople. Krol achieves this through wall-less rooms and a mountain made of tinfoil that reflects the lighting by Julia Gordon. Her lighting design effectively draws out the mood of the scene, utilizing shades of charcoal grays, cool greens, and vibrant purples, and she creates the scene's atmosphere, such as by shifting from a stark yellow on the villagers' party to an ominous red in the church's chilling congregation.

Connor Rose also exhibits his musical expertise by adding an original score based on the Appalachian folk ballads that influenced the play. Rose infuses this cheerful music with dark lyrics to match the cheerful village community's inclusion of John the Witch Boy's dark narrative.

San Juan Hills High School clearly has talent in its cast and crew, and in their performance of Dark of the Moon, the students' acting and design choices elevate this play to somewhere as high as the moon itself.

Alexander Trevisan
Tesoro High School
Submitted for publication to OC Varsity Arts

San Juan's "Dark of the Moon" is beautifully tragic
written by Alexander Trevisan, a senior at Tesoro High School

Lights lay low and shadows creep across the stage as a witch boy enters the scene. He makes a deal to become human and starts on a journey filled with loving tragedy. This begins San Juan's fresh take on the mysterious and folksy "Dark of the Moon."

When John the Witch Boy (Noah Salviati) drops down from his mountain perch, it is clear that he is not of this world. With snake-like movements and swaying stature, Salviati makes his body seem to flow, being pulled between two different worlds. In the humble Appalachian village, John's human form is stiff and aloof. His voice is airy and nasal with an upward inflection different from his counterparts' Southern twang. Attacked by town bully, John quickly catches the punch and tosses him to the ground. John's upright posture and solid footing surprise the slouching and laidback townspeople.

Barbara enters, and the settlement goes silent. Barbara (Kaily Johnson) is beautiful, and in her bright red dress, she stands out from the faded fabrics and worn-out plaids of the townsfolk. Her beauty has attracted everyone's attention, but she chooses John. As John begins to slip away, she becomes breathy and desperate, trying to hold on to what used to be. Throughout the show, Johnson uses her voice to set the mood. She sings lilting ballads, speaks loving words, and sobs desperate cries.

The witches, played by Anam Faruqi and Calista Henson, swing around acting as temptresses to John and frightful menaces to the townspeople. Between shrill cackles and seductive whispers, the witches use their full vocal range to manipulate John's situation. Confronting the old couple responsible for John's transformation from witch to human, they surround and intimidate them into making a tragic bargain.

Lighting, designed by Julia Gordon, brings the setting to life in each scene. With darker greens, blues, and purples, the lighting brings out the murky mystery of the Witch Mountains. With vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows, the lighting reflects the warm domesticity of the Appalachians. While the Witch Mountains are riddled with shadows and unseen forces, the Appalachians are clear and everyone in town knows exactly what's going on.

With nuanced characters and complex technical design, San Juan reminds us to fight for what we love and push through life's obstacles in "Dark of the Moon."

Alexander Trevisan
Tesoro High School
Submitted for publication to OC Varsity Arts

San Juan's "Dark of the Moon" is beautifully tragic
written by Alexander Trevisan, a senior at Tesoro High School

Lights lay low and shadows creep across the stage as a witch boy enters the scene. He makes a deal to become human and starts on a journey filled with loving tragedy. This begins San Juan's fresh take on the mysterious and folksy "Dark of the Moon."

When John the Witch Boy (Noah Salviati) drops down from his mountain perch, it is clear that he is not of this world. With snake-like movements and swaying stature, Salviati makes his body seem to flow, being pulled between two different worlds. In the humble Appalachian village, John's human form is stiff and aloof. His voice is airy and nasal with an upward inflection different from his counterparts' Southern twang. Attacked by town bully, John quickly catches the punch and tosses him to the ground. John's upright posture and solid footing surprise the slouching and laidback townspeople.

Barbara enters, and the settlement goes silent. Barbara (Kaily Johnson) is beautiful, and in her bright red dress, she stands out from the faded fabrics and worn-out plaids of the townsfolk. Her beauty has attracted everyone's attention, but she chooses John. As John begins to slip away, she becomes breathy and desperate, trying to hold on to what used to be. Throughout the show, Johnson uses her voice to set the mood. She sings lilting ballads, speaks loving words, and sobs desperate cries.

The witches, played by Anam Faruqi and Calista Henson, swing around acting as temptresses to John and frightful menaces to the townspeople. Between shrill cackles and seductive whispers, the witches use their full vocal range to manipulate John's situation. Confronting the old couple responsible for John's transformation from witch to human, they surround and intimidate them into making a tragic bargain.

Lighting, designed by Julia Gordon, brings the setting to life in each scene. With darker greens, blues, and purples, the lighting brings out the murky mystery of the Witch Mountains. With vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows, the lighting reflects the warm domesticity of the Appalachians. While the Witch Mountains are riddled with shadows and unseen forces, the Appalachians are clear and everyone in town knows exactly what's going on.

With nuanced characters and complex technical design, San Juan reminds us to fight for what we love and push through life's obstacles in "Dark of the Moon."

Jessie Richard
Tesoro High School
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook Page

San Juan's Dark of the Moon
written by Jessie Richard, a junior at Tesoro High School

Dark of the Moon by Howard Richardson and William Berney tells the story of John the witch boy who falls in love with a human girl, Barbara Allen. John the witch boy makes a bargain with the Conjure Woman. If Barbara Allen is faithful to John for one year, John gets to be a human forever and stay with Barbara.

Noah Salviati brings John the witch boy to life with his character walks. Salviati has two distinct walks between being a witch and a human. When his character is a witch, his movements are very fluid and weightless; whereas, when he is a human his stance is steady and stable. Salviati does an excellent job differentiating the witch and the human in his character.

Barbara Allen, Kaily Johnson, is an innocent, young girl in the town. Johnson sings "The Ballad of Barbara Allen" multiple times throughout the show. Her light and beautiful voice adds to the innocence of Barbara.

The two witches, Anam Faruqi and Calista Henson, work very well together as they hobble and crawl around the stage with their animalistic walks. The two witches desire John the witch boy and Faruqi and Henson show this by frequently throwing themselves at Salviati. Faruqi and Henson show their strong connection with their similar movements.

Connor Rose composed three songs for this production. There were already words for "The Ballad of Barbara Allen", but the instrumental music has been lost through time. Connor Rose composed the instrumental for the ballad, along with composing two other songs, "Mountain Dew" and "John Williams". As well as writing the music, Rose also sings and plays the songs on guitar as his character in the show.

The lighting design in Dark of the Moon is very present and is thought well through. Julia Gordon, the lighting designer, uses cooler colors such as blues, greens, and purples in the darker scenes. The way the blues, greens, and purples shine through the fog creates an eerie mood. In the town, Gordon uses warmer colors like oranges and reds to symbolize the good in the show.

San Juan Hills High School Dark of the Moon is an exceptional production.

Jessie Richard
Tesoro High School
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook Page

San Juan's Dark of the Moon
written by Jessie Richard, a junior at Tesoro High School

Dark of the Moon by Howard Richardson and William Berney tells the story of John the witch boy who falls in love with a human girl, Barbara Allen. John the witch boy makes a bargain with the Conjure Woman. If Barbara Allen is faithful to John for one year, John gets to be a human forever and stay with Barbara.

Noah Salviati brings John the witch boy to life with his character walks. Salviati has two distinct walks between being a witch and a human. When his character is a witch, his movements are very fluid and weightless; whereas, when he is a human his stance is steady and stable. Salviati does an excellent job differentiating the witch and the human in his character.

Barbara Allen, Kaily Johnson, is an innocent, young girl in the town. Johnson sings "The Ballad of Barbara Allen" multiple times throughout the show. Her light and beautiful voice adds to the innocence of Barbara.

The two witches, Anam Faruqi and Calista Henson, work very well together as they hobble and crawl around the stage with their animalistic walks. The two witches desire John the witch boy and Faruqi and Henson show this by frequently throwing themselves at Salviati. Faruqi and Henson show their strong connection with their similar movements.

Connor Rose composed three songs for this production. There were already words for "The Ballad of Barbara Allen", but the instrumental music has been lost through time. Connor Rose composed the instrumental for the ballad, along with composing two other songs, "Mountain Dew" and "John Williams". As well as writing the music, Rose also sings and plays the songs on guitar as his character in the show.

The lighting design in Dark of the Moon is very present and is thought well through. Julia Gordon, the lighting designer, uses cooler colors such as blues, greens, and purples in the darker scenes. The way the blues, greens, and purples shine through the fog creates an eerie mood. In the town, Gordon uses warmer colors like oranges and reds to symbolize the good in the show.

San Juan Hills High School Dark of the Moon is an exceptional production.