Absurdism Center Stage at Edgewater High School

by Danielle Johnson, Ocoee High School

Edgewater High’s "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" was a sharp and hilarious satire on police corruption in Italy. This show is a riveting display of absurdism that takes you through several twists and turns. While absurdism isn’t an easy thing to pull off in a high school show, Edgewater’s cast of 6 did an outstanding job.

Though I was a little lost at times, which is the way absurdism seems to keep you, I remained engulfed by the energy and amazing characterization of Darrel Carrillo as The Sergeant. Darrel was always on point within his role and left me hoping to hear more from him. The delightful scene of watching him unwrap his lunch is one that won’t be easily topped. Scott Amerman as The Fool is surely deserving of much accolades. How he kept that amount of energy through the entire show still baffles me! Though I wish to have heard more fluctuation in his voice to catch more punch lines and add dimension to the character, it didn’t take much away from his overall superiorly memorized and explosive performance. Carrillo and Amerman, along with their cast, were a priceless experience. Krystal McMullan being the only female actress in the show presented a powerful display of authoritative stage presence when the male actors seem to sort of cower down to her. Along with a strong stage voice, Krystal’s fluctuations and emotional commitment worked for her.

From a technical aspect, the first thing I noticed was the detail of the stone and the window; it made me feel like I was on the outside looking in. The costumes made me question what time period the show fell in and references to more present day things. The bland background worked because it allowed the actors to stand out more. The lighting levels bothered me partially because the green light at times was too vivid. Little things, such as the characters referring to the time and looking at their wrists without having on a watch, and the keys that were made known to be in a character's pocket, but was visible on the desk made an audience member like me say hmmm…but could be an easy fix on the actor's parts.

For the attempt of absurdism, it was obvious that the cast, director and techies all creatively worked together and thought out how to bring it all together! Kudos to you all!

Originally published in The Backstage Noise, Fall, 2005