Solvay High School to Perform "The King Stag" November 18 and 19

On November 18 and 19, Solvay High School will perform “The King Stag,” a play written by Carlo Gozzi and adapted by Shelley Berc and Andrei Belgrader. Audience members who appreciate fairy tales, romance, betrayal, death and destruction, along with a happy ending, will be sure to enjoy the qualities of this play.

 “’The King Stag’ is an incredibly versatile show,” said Director Margaux Deverin. “It stretches and contracts to fit the demographic and ability level of its cast. So of course it was an excellent choice for our fall production this year.”

“The King Stag” is written in the classic Commedia Dell'arte theatre style, which relies on physicality and using the body to display emotions. The story itself focuses on Deramo, King of Serendippo, in his search for a wife. After a long search, with the help of a magical statue, Deramo chooses Angela to be his bride. Unfortunately, the evil Tartagila also loves Angela. When he finds out about the impending marriage between Deramo and Angela, Tartagila uses a magical spell to turn Deramo into a stag. From there, the story continues, with plenty of lighthearted comedy to bring the characters and fairy tale setting to life.

Different from past productions at Solvay, “The King Stag” allows for an ensemble in addition to the main characters, something that Solvay has not been able to do in the past. This setup has allowed the show to involve more people in the production, with 20 students participating on stage. The addition of the ensemble has also allowed for deaf and hard of hearing actors to shine on stage as well.

“Students have had to leap out of their comfort zones to fulfill challenging, large than life roles,” said Ms. Deverin. “In addition to this, there is the added difficulty of the classic Commedia Dell'arte theatre style, which relies so heavily on physicality. That has been, perhaps, the largest hurdle to overcome, but the students have done a great job in overcoming this.”

Along with Ms. Deverin, other staff members involved in the show include Jerry Fitzgerald as producer and Christian Oliver as head of props and costumes. In addition to the Solvay staff, the play has come together due to the hard work of the Solvay student stage managers and crew. The student crew and set construction team consists of 15 students, including stage managers Delana Thomas and Jake Taclof, and set construction/ personal assistant Ashley Lioto. Ms. Deverin credits the hard work of the student crew and set construction team as being instrumental to the success of the production.

“The students, cast and crew, are doing great,” said Ms. Deverin. “We have so much fun as an ensemble, and I can't wait to get them in front of an audience. I'm extremely proud of this cast and crew.”

“The King Stag” will take place on Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19 at 7 p.m. in the Solvay High School auditorium, at 600 Gertrude Ave., Syracuse NY 13209. Advanced tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Solvay High School Main Office, or reserved by email at mdeverin@solvayschools.org. At the door, tickets will be $7.