News Detail
VA Performing Arts Class, Act 3, Puts on Student-Produced Matinee
On May 14, at 9:30 am, members of the Vermont Academy community who had a free morning headed to the Nita Choukas Theater in Horowitz Performing Arts Hall to attend a matinee put on by a Vermont Academy Performing Arts class, Act 3.
For their final project, members of the class Suki Lambert ’25, Cam Burchinal ’26, Andy Darcy ’25, Yousong Huang ’27, and Hugo Tricas ’26 came together to create their entirely student-produced rendition of “Sure Thing,” written by Jason Buzas.
The comedic story takes place in a cafe and follows Bill, who attempts–and often fails–to woo Betty, who is sitting alone, engrossed in her book and generally uninterested in Bill’s advances. With every misstep Bill makes trying to win her over, a bell rings, resetting the conversation and reversing his mistakes repeatedly. Slowly, the bells become less frequent as he begins to get it right and catch Betty’s interest.
As part of their grade, the cast and crew hosted an after-show Q&A before the audience, answering questions about the process of choosing the script, designing the set, creating the programs, what it was like to run their very own show, and more.
The team detailed many student-made elements that made this production especially unique. Suki had to navigate the challenges of directing two mostly sedentary characters, leaving her to direct their expressions and more subtle movements.
There was also an element of costume design the team had to navigate, spearheaded by Cam. The outfits needed to be inky enough to blend into the darkness when the stage lights were turned off during certain scenes.
Hugo’s set design process followed the real-life steps in a professional production. He created set maps on paper, then made a 3-D model of the stage, replicating exactly what would be on stage come showtime.
Sure Thing
Book and Script by Jason Buzas
Cast:
Bill - Andy Darcy ’25
Betty - Cam Burchinal ’26
Crew:
Director - Suki Lambert ’25
Sound Design - Yousong Huang ’27, Hugo Tricas ’26
Light Design - Yousong Huang ’27
Light Operator - Yousong Huang ’27
Sound Operator - Hugo Tricas ’26
Set Design - Hugo Tricas ’26
Stage Managers - Suki Lambert ’25, Andy Darcy ’25
House Manager - Suki Lambert ’25
Special thanks went to Mr. Barron, Mr. Cady, Ms. Storrow, and all who supported the show.
Vermont Academy is a coed college preparatory boarding and day school in southern Vermont, serving grades 9-12 plus a postgraduate year.
