Lord of the Flies
at San Clemente

Reviewed on November 30, 2017

NameSchoolPublication/Broadcasts
Beckman
Orange County Register
Los Alamitos
OC Cappies Facebook
Los Alamitos
OC Cappies Facebook



Bella Kelso
Beckman

Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

SCHS's Lord of the Flies: From Page to Stage
written by Bella Kelso, a sophomore at Beckman High School

"Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us."

Simone and the other girls find out the hard way. When a disastrous plane accident leaves a group of schoolgirls to fend for themselves on a deserted island, all hell breaks loose. True colors begin to show and survival instincts kick in, and in the end someone must pay the price.

San Clemente High School's gender-swapped female cast of Lord of the Flies effectively uses simplistic costumes, makeup, and set to concisely tell this beloved tale.

Especially commanding was Abbi Gutierrez's cold and menacing Jackie. Through her icy glare she quickly commands power and gains respect from the girls of the group. Her descent into savagery is shown as her body language intensifies, notably during the end of the second act in which she moves purposely, frantically, and aggressively.

The wide-eyed Erin, played by Emma Dawson, proved that not all of the girls were in a descent to savagery, through her constant look of fear and innocence. This was also mirrored in Erin's sister, Sam, played by Sophie Matossian.

Most captivating was Simone, played by Brianna Blashill, who shows sanity in her insanity through her haunting monologues. She begins the show as an observant, quiet girl with little say in any decision but later realizes the beast they all fear is inside of each of them. This moment of logic and sanity is shortly interrupted as Simone dies a tragic death at the hands of the other girls.

Makeup, co-lead by Ashley Seng and Sophie Wehr, which included realistic sunburns, scars/bruising, and dirt, added to the setting of the story. Actors appeared realistically disheveled, and this along with costumes, done by Cambria Douglas, created a rough, worn-out look that highlighted the dangers and hardships the characters faced on the island.

The rugged and simplistic set, including a platform as the centerpiece, was used by actors Carlie McCleary (Ralphie) and Abbi Gutierrez (Jackie) and utilized the minimal sets to display power roles, create setting, and raise the stakes. The minimal and simplistic theatrics still made room for a powerful and effective performance.

San Clemente's Lord of the Flies paints a perfect picture of the classic, thrilling story of abandoned children struggling to fight for their lives.


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Eleanor Williams
Los Alamitos

Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Girls of San Clemente go savage

Everyone knows what happens when schoolboy survivors of a plane crash must create their own civilization on an island. But what happens when girls are faced with the same dilemma? In a bold and successful choice by San Clemente High School student directors Maggie Anderson and Zach Thomas, the normally all male cast of "Lord of the Flies" becomes an all female cast and challenges our perceptions of male and female savagery.

Throughout the play, the advancement of bestiality within the girls is illustrated through their acting as well as through their costumes and makeup. The costumes department led by Cambria Douglas was able to differentiate the hunters from the peacekeepers. As the play progressed, the costumes became more thrashed, and the original color symbols began to disappear. The makeup, co-led by Ashely Seng and Sophie Wehr, impressively showed time passing through the gradual change of cuts to scars and the increase of sunburns, dirt marks, and tribal makeup.

The first character to make the descent into inhumanity is Jackie played by Abbi Gutierrez. She tries to seize control and retaliates violently when she doesn't. Gutierrez's portrayal of Jackie's leadership is increasingly intensely condescending and extremely effective.

Ralphie, played by Carly McCleary, has a dynamic conflict with Jackie as the two opposing leaders of the island. Their manipulation of the varying heights of the set to show their dominance over one another is exceptionally engaging.

Just before her death, Simone, played by Brianna Blashill, comes to a realization of who ‘the beast' is. Her sudden cognizance and the subsequent internal struggle are showed through her eyes frantically searching the audience for an answer and her hysteric internal conversation. Blashill's execution of this scene became the turning point of the show and finalized the divide between the two parties.

Perhaps the most stable character of the show, Piggy, played by Hayden Koerner, maintained her values throughout the duration of the show, emphasizing the others' growing brutality. Piggy is a hopeless character, but when her glasses are stolen by the hunters, Koerner's hopelessness becomes a desperation to the audience and her peers onstage.

Finally, two winning production aspects of the show come from the lighting and the sound crews. The lighting, led by Addy Awtry, helps to illustrate the intended mood of the scene to the audience: opening, calm scenes are blue, moments of revelation are pink, and dramatic death scenes are red. Rarely found in plays, the subtle background sound, co-led by Collin Meyer and Lorenzo Marino, reminded the audience of the situation at hand. The music helped to portray the actors' hope, desperation, and savagery.

This iteration of "Lord of the Flies" is engaging and thought provoking from all aspects.


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Candler Cusato
Los Alamitos

Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

San Clemente's ‘Lord of the Flies' is Murderously Magnificent
written by Candler Cusato, a senior at Los Alamitos High School

After crash-landing on a deserted island in the Atlantic Ocean, a group of school children struggle for survival amidst their own fighting factions and the threat of an unknown beast lurking in the trees. With their unique departure from the story in the form of an all-female cast, authentic acting, and inspired technical choices, San Clemente deftly shows that savagery is not just a masculine trait with their heart racing production of "Lord of the Flies."

As Jackie, leader of a ruthless and murderous band of hunters, Abbi Gutierrez floods the stage with masculine energy, distinctly departing from her pristine and uniformed persona as a school prefect. Crouching like a panther and deftly tracking her prey through the trees, her increasingly aggressive and animalistic behaviors truly showcase the human tendency to descend into savagery if left to our own devices.

With her constantly wringing hands and noticeable stutter, Hayden Koerner as Piggy expertly differentiates herself from the swirling vortex of savagery that threatens to and ultimately consumes the rest of the castaways. Although mild-mannered, Koerner does a fantastic job of showing Piggy's mounting frustration at being unable to address the group in meetings, going from slumped and whispering to screaming desperately at her unruly friends.

To showcase the descent into anarchy the characters experience, Cambria Douglas and her costuming team separate the cast into ensembles of increasingly tattered blue and red designs. Dressing the always moral Ralphie in shades of blue and white, while Jackie and her hunters are a sea of red, they clearly showcase the growing divide between the two groups with their fashion choices. Equally influential in demonstrating the dissension between Jackie and Ralphie is makeup designed by Ashely Seng and Sophie Wehr, as the pair cover the hunters in blood and tribal hunting designs while leaving the more civilized members of the cast less adorned. To enhance their already tattered appearances, the makeup department ensures that all of the castaways become increasingly sunburnt and earn new scars as their time on the island drags on, deftly showing the passage of time with their additions.

With their ferocious acting choices and phenomenal technical direction, San Clemente puts their own spin on a time-honored classic and deftly demonstrates the dangers of anyone, regardless of their gender, losing touch with their humanity.

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