Voices of Courage
at Santa Margarita Catholic

Reviewed on October 25, 2019

Sofia Migliaccio
Mission Viejo
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies

Rise up with Santa Margarita's "Voices of Courage"
written by Sofia Migliaccio, a senior at Mission Viejo High School

Students at Santa Margarita Catholic take their opportunity to speak out on some of the world's most polarizing and emotional topics through their play "Voices of Courage", a performance composed of seven student-written, directed, and produced scenes that highlight various situations in today's world where a voice of courage is hard to find.

Story Weavers Makena Horn, Delaney Jankanish, Savannah Jimenez, Jane Marquis, Lindley Kate McKenzie, Mary Katherine Riley, and Garrett Webb serve as the directors of their respective scenes, each fully in charge of all theatrical and technical elements in their piece of the show. The Weavers worked closely alongside their crews and cast to produce scenes held significance to all parties involved, discussing topics like anxiety, body image, and disability discrimination. To unify each scene into one cohesive performance, the Weavers ended each scene asking the audience to speak out on the presence of each issue in their own lives with their own voices of courage.

The performance on body image "Adjusting to a Sick Society" uses striking interpretive dance set to spoken word to show the fundamental issues people have when it comes to loving themselves. Choreographer Savannah Jimenez makes beautiful movement bursting with energy that encompasses all dancers in the same heart-wrenching story.

Lily Scannell plays the title role in the scene "Alex and You", which tackles the subject of crippling anxiety. With eyes wide and arms flailing in distress, Scannell transports the audience into the mind of someone with true pain. The Mind Monsters (Caroline Benser, Olivia Pannell, and Danielle Reyes) haunt Alex as the physical manifestation of her own anxiety, skulking about as Alex crumbles into complete hopelessness.

The Projection Design Team ran by Lindley Kate McKenzie and Jane Marquis enhance each performance even further with eye-catching visuals to supplement the actors. The scene "A World That Wasn't Made for Us" utilizes videos of darting eyes and closeups of the actors to personalize the experience and make things more intimate with the audience. In "What Will You Do?", the actors have poster-like photos of inspirational figures plastered on the walls behind them as they recite quotes from said figures.

This impressive collaboration of so many hardworking students at Santa Margarita encourages us to rise up against the topics that are hard to talk about, and finding ways to use our own voices of courage every day.

Cameron Newman
San Juan Hills
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

SMCHS's Voices Of Courage speaks to audiences
written by Cameron Newman, a senior at San Juan Hills High School

Donning a freshly stamped identification tag, you are herded into a detention center. Bullhorns blare, guards glare, and immigrants, past and present, stare apprehensively into the night. You have just entered Santa Margarita Catholic High School's Voices Of Courage.

Voices of Courage, an immersive, entirely student-created experience, offers a poignant look at courage's many forms. Seven pieces are presented as viewers are guided to different locations. Though each performance varies in topic, they are united in wholehearted artistic commitment and passion.

"A World That Wasn't Made For Us" provides disability visibility as earnest, unflinching storytellers speak, sign, and sway to present works by disabled poets. Lights (Mary Katherine Riley) imitate a sensory-overload episode through rapid flashes of clashing colors. Mirror shards adorn the set (Molly Roberts), symbolizing society's broken reflection of disability.

Lily Scannell portrays life with crippling anxiety in "Alex and You". Clad in an oppressive orange hue and plagued by earsplitting whines, the technicians portrayal of Alex's perpetual discomfort is enhanced by Scannell's panicked face and shrinking physicality.

"Adjusting To A Sick Society" paints a gut-wrenching portrait of domestic violence and body shaming through dance. Disfigured with realistic bruises by Honor Clarkin, dancers enact Samantha Jimenez's haunting choreography with agonized grace, each movement expressive and precise.

Natalie Mitchell, Isabella Casciola, and Briana Emerson embody the elements in "Our House Is On Fire". Costumes (Taylor Gamble) distinguish them: Wind sports an airy scarf, Water, a flowing cape, and Earth, a flower crown. As Humans (Matthew Elniski/Olivia Orellana) squirm defensively, dismissing destruction to the environment, the elements' dignified delight crumples into distressed despondence.

"Listen to our voices of courage! We rise up with voices of courage!" resounds as the audience is swept into a human rights march to the final location. In the last piece, storytellers fluidly shift from solemn to triumphant while quoting courageous historical figures. Slogans advocating equality frame the set (Thomas Rawlings) and bedeck handheld protest signs (Ethan Diaz).

Directors, or "Story Weavers", synthesize curated texts with spoken word, dance, and tech to tell a thought-provoking and inspiring story. Responsible for envisioning, staging, and executing each piece, these students (and those they guided) successfully create a work that's cohesive and original.

SMCHS reminds us to always choose courage in the face of obstacles. For the finale, the company joins hands and joyously sings to invite you to "draw your own conclusion".

Caitlyn Wilt
Tesoro
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Santa Margarita Catholic High School raises their "Voices of Courage" in original play
written by Caitlyn Wilt, a junior at Tesoro High School

Different and daring, student-written "Voices of Courage" leads the audience through Santa Margarita's campus in a series of six performances--each an amalgamation of text and choreography--that explore different types of courage needed to overcome disability, anxiety, abuse, and a changing environment.

In the piece entitled "Alex and You," Alex (Lily Scannell) narrates her struggle with mental health in choreographed movement, as a trio of Mind Monsters, representing anxiety, follow her. Scannell emphasizes the emotional weight of coping with mental illness by walking with heavy steps, crouching over and trudging along the path. The Mind Monsters attack Alex in perfectly synchronized, punctuated movements that demonstrate an acute sense of timing.

Expressive and spirited, Savannah Jimenez dances as a woman in an abusive relationship. Her squinted eyes and subtle grimace indicate the relationship is violent, not passionate. Pain becomes determination as she widens her eyes and lowers her brow when choosing to leave her partner.

Two humans interrupt a performance by throwing plastic water bottles, then defending their actions to the audience. Human 1 (Matthew Elniski) represents the anger that comes with a guilty conscience by leaning towards the audience and raising his voice, as he makes excuses for the destructive behavior of the human race. Elniski's frantic speech portrays the character as someone to be pitied for his ignorance, not attacked for his actions.

Molly Roberts, makeup designer for the piece "A World That Wasn't Made For Us," draws thick, arched eyebrows, inspired by silent films of the twenties, onto the dancers. These ironically highlight the actors' facial expressions when they portray people with disabilities like autism that complicate communication, making the contrast between the abled and disabled that much starker.

Unifying the individual performances, the SMCHS Costume Design Team color-coordinates each group's costumes so they are easily differentiable. Performers in "A World That Wasn't Made For Us" are in white, playing off the colorful lights and projections of the piece, while those in "A Sick Society" are kept in black, like the bruises that cover the dancer's legs. All dancers wear tan jazz shoes, further aiding the continuity in theme.

Santa Margarita Catholic High School's production of "Voices of Courage" is a clear call to action, encouraging the audience to find the courage to act on issues meaningful to them.