The First Academy Upper School Theatre Department presents “Not a Clue”

The First Academy’s Upper School Theatre Department presented its fall production, “Not a Clue,” Sept. 12, 13 and 14 at the school’s Black Box Theatre.

The hourlong show, written by local playwright Katie Thayer, was specifically crafted for TFA and pays homage to the classic “Clue” film.

The show also was completely student driven and led by 17-year-old student director Tori Smith.

“The board game ‘Clue’ and all the properties surrounding ‘Clue’ are beloved property, and the hijinks fit with the direction we wanted to go with bringing on a student director,” Upper School Theatre Director Jason Porrata said. “We wanted a show that would have a lot of fun and be something our students could get excited about. We commissioned a new work that’s based on the board game and inspired by the various plays and movies revolving around it. It just fits really well with the wants and needs of all of our students. … We’ve tried to hand more and more things off to the students so that they can learn, grow and take ownership of the space and the arts. Tori has been an excellent example of leadership and taking those things to heart. It’s been really cool to see the students take the forefront of things and take on the responsibilities.”

WHODUNIT?

Smith was bitten by the “theater bug” when she was only 4 years old. 

Although her whole family is involved in theater, when it comes to directing, she took inspiration from her mother.

“My mom worked at a public school and directed theater there for a while,” she said. “She also directed some of the things I would do growing up. I would get to watch her work through the process, and I found it to be fascinating. She and I have always loved breaking down theatrical productions and looking at all of the different aspects from the set to the lighting and movement on stage.”

Last spring, Smith reached out to Porrata about the possibility of assistant directing the spring musical, which she said she learned a lot from and was a wonderful experience.

This time, when the fall play came along, Porrata reached out to Smith to direct.

“I was ecstatic,” Smith said. “I love leading, and I love the arts so much. It’s just been incredible to watch everything come together. It means so much that Mr. P. put his faith in us. All the small pieces really bring this large picture that we’ve all worked to create to life.”

Smith said the production of “Not a Clue” is unique.

“It was fun to take the movie and take Jumanji and kind of create this new monster of a show,” Smith said. “There’s also some other shout-outs and references to other board games along the way. It’s really different from anything I think anyone has seen before. There’s lots of levels to explore, and I think people are really blown away by it.”

Smith’s favorite part about putting the show together was “all of it.”

“Our theater program is pretty small, so we’re all pretty close,” she said. “It’s been awesome to build our relationships in new ways, because they’re some of my best friends, but in this situation I had to be more of an authority figure. They’ve shown me so much respect, patience and love throughout the whole process.”

She said the biggest challenge was managing all the different pieces of the puzzle and figuring out how to make them fit the best way possible.

“If you’ve been around Orlando, you know we’re in a strong theatrical community,” Porrata said. “We go and see shows at many other schools, but for me what’s most inspiring when it comes to our experiences here is seeing the way the students take the lead. This show has sort of been, in some ways, a culmination of years of work with that. There’s been failings, challenges, frustrations and lots of learning from both the students and myself. That’s the power of theater. I could do all of this for them, but them doing it themselves is so much more impactful.

“As a Christian school, we believe the value of the arts is so much more than just being pretty; we think it reflects something beautiful about a God that’s beautiful,” he said. “So, even in a silly, dumb show like this, the beauty of it is that when we laugh we are created by a God who laughs and loves silliness and loves to see us smile. Our hope for our audiences and our students is that as they come to our shows they recognize a God who makes beautiful things and loves them very much.”

Smith said the show isn’t necessarily an inspiring piece of work with lessons to be learned, but it is for people to have a good time. 

“In a world where we move so fast and we need screens to do everything for us and we need to have multiple things going on at one time, theater is a moment where you just sit back and you watch and let yourself be enraptured by this beautiful art,” she said. “It’s an outlet for the performers and the audience. It’s a moment to step away and appreciate things in a new light. I just wanted everyone to leave with a smile on their face.”