Hamilton officially finished its run of Monty Python’s Spamalot, with closing night on Saturday April 18. The final bow was emotional for all involved, culminating all the hard work put into the show. SAS Senior Pharez Figeroua talks about what the experience meant to him. “As a latino performer, it was really special for me to take on roles not usually played by latinos .. I was able to represent my community with pride.”
However, the production wasn’t all smooth sailing to get there, as the program had to overcome many hurdles to arrive at their destination.
Power Issues
For one, ongoing power issues threatened to shut down the production entirely.
On Tuesday, April 7, students in the production were alerted by staff that technical issues with our school’s power system had unfortunately pushed back the schedule of rehearsals more than anticipated. Because of this, performances were delayed, with the show set to open Friday, April 10 instead of a planned Thursday opening.
Many students as well as staff expressed their frustrations with the outages, as this isn’t the first time they’ve affected performances.
“We’re unable to do full tech days and we’re unable to do complete shows without intermissions and stopping points,” said Emily Kane, an AMPA sophomore in the production.
These outages aren’t a new problem for Hamilton. Since the beginning of the semester, Hamilton High has been under construction to complete the new modernization plan. The construction, though, has been very disruptive towards our schools electricity system. LAUSD has been in contact with Hamilton and provided a backup generator for power in the auditorium. This however, still has its limitations.
Mr. Burch, Hamilton’s technical theater teacher, spoke a little more on the subject. “Unfortunately, that generator can only be turned on and off by specific people who do not have our schedules.” This in turn slows things down for the department, making it harder to get through technical rehearsals.
The faulty generator has affected two other AMPA productions, Sweet Second Acts and Broadway Night. Both shows lost power in the middle of their performances, leading to a lot of downtime before being able to get it up and running again.
To combat this issue for Spamalot, LAUSD provided the school with an additional backup generator. This way if the first generator dies, the second one can be turned on by a push of a button.
Strike
The looming teachers strike was also an obstacle threatening to halt the show.
Last week, UTLA, AALA, and SEIU Local 99 were all in negotiations with LAUSD. Most of the talks surrounded raises in salaries, but things such as smaller class sizes, additional mental health supports, and more student resources were also discussed. If all three unions couldn’t come to an agreement with the district, a strike would take place starting April 14th.
Waiting for a decision proved to be agonizing for some.
Wyeth Sander, an AMPA senior, shared his feelings surrounding the strike. “I was stressed because I thought, ‘I’m not gonna get my last few shows.’”
Fortunately, all three unions were able to reach an agreement with the district, allowing the show to move forward.
The cast, pit, and crew of Spamalot showed a lot of resilience in the weeks leading up to the performances. “You could see them going above and beyond to push themselves to do their art,” said director Ms. Jordan, “even with the restrictions placed upon us.”
