Chartiers Valley thespians recognized for fall show

Bringing the magic to a Chartiers Valley High School play paid off for its cast and crew.

The school’s fall show, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” received three wins and nine nominations from the High School Drama Awards, sponsored by Prime Stage Theatre.

“There was so much love and care behind the show,” said Theo Kistler, a junior and the show’s stage manager. “That’s what made it so successful.”

Winners included Theo Walsh and Tyler Debski, best student lighting; Debski, best student use of creative special effects; and the deck crew, best student backstage run crew.

Walsh also was awarded Artistic Acceptance to Point Park University and a $5,000 scholarship.

“We would run something until it’s perfect,” Kistler said.

Nominations included best actor, Wesley Madge as Albus Potter; best supporting actor, Ryan Fox as Ron Weasley; best supporting actress, Aislinn Myrah as Delphi Diggory; best student stage managers, Kistler and Luca Kraft; best student sound operation, Robert Burkholder, Brady Bart and Haylee Poploski; and best overall production.

The show ran Nov. 13 to 16. The story takes place 19 years after the original Harry Potter series and follows Harry, his family and a new generation at Hogwarts through a whimsical story of identity, legacy and parenting.

Chartiers Valley was the first school in Western Pennsylvania to perform the show, Debski said.

Because the show had a magic element, there were a lot of special effects students had to create, said Kim Giffin, director.

The most fun part, Debski said, was creating a potion that exploded during the show. He said he enjoyed building, improvising and creating special effects so they’d work properly.

“We did a lot of testing,” Debski said.

Said Giffin: “It’s a lot of trial and error.”

The cast and crew also had to expedite the time they were able to rehearse on stage because of delays replacing the rigging system at the stage, Giffin said.

As stage manager, Kistler “conducted” the show, Giffin said.

“You have to know when every set changes,” Kistler said. “I try to go to all the blocking rehearsals and have it all marked down in my script and binder.”

Giffin said the show was a full collaborative effort. About 40 students were part of the production.

“Everyone was very driven and dedicated to make it happen,” Giffin said.

“A lot of people had a lot of drive,” Kistler said. “This specific team I worked with for this show was the best team I’ve ever worked with.”