By Meladi Brewer

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — What do you do when you can’t trust anyone?

Everyone’s favorite detective pair comes to Greenville, as The Greenville High School Theater Program brings to life a Sherlock Holmes story for their Winter Theater Production that is sure to have the audience on the edge of their seats.

“The Hound of The Baskervilles” is a classic tale of “who done it” that will captivate and build suspense, as Holmes and Doctor Watson move to solve yet another murder mystery. However, don’t be fooled by the cast, as this is not your typical Sherlock Holmes production.

“One thing I think that makes this show unique is that although Holmes and Wattson are very centric characters and incredibly important to the show, they are part of the ensemble,” Steve Buckingham, Theater Program Advisor and Director said. “It really is a full ensemble show. There is no true lead.”

Having a background in professional theater, Buckingham said he loves working with ensembles and wanted to incorporate it into the show as much as possible. The cast this year is close and truly embodies the teamwork that needs to go into a production to make it successful, and Buckingham said theater is a team collaboration. He sought out to highlight and emphasize that within the play itself as well.

“When you say it’s a family atmosphere, it sounds corny to some people but really that’s my experience with it,” Buckingham said. “It’s always the way that it was. A tight knit circle of people collaborating. These guys are wonderful with that.”

He said the collaborative efforts of theater are something that he loves about it. “It’s a ‘one for all, all for one’ kind of mentality”, so the group tries to promote and advocate for it. Co-president Mya Conway embodies this philosophy having come from a technical background.

She has learned to dabble in all areas of the show, as Conway acts, directs, and has helped with creating and collecting props as well. She and her co-president Lydia Beisner work together to ensure the show is successful, as Beisner herself acts, runs social media outlets, and she helped with costuming.

“This is actually the first year the club has been able to pay for costumes, and Beisner has handled that very well,” Conway said.

Conway says it is cool to see the variety of people involved come together.

“We have engineers, someone who went to CTC for construction building sets, we have art kids downstairs painting, and it is a really interesting group of people coming together to make the show possible,” Conway said.

When in theater, no matter someone’s background, there is no such thing as only knowing one area. Buckingham said everyone is always involved in some way with all the other aspects of the production.

“It takes a great deal of cooperation, ingenuity, and student motivation,” Buckingham said. “They really really have to want to do it and build everything from the ground up because it is me and them. We get assistance from volunteer help here and there.”

He and the group thank all of the parents, volunteers, and Memorial Hall for letting them utilize the space and for supporting them throughout the years.

“Thank you all for your support because our numbers have seemed to grow in the past year, and I’d love you to come see this show,” Conway said.

Buckingham says he wants the community to see the show and make memories and find enjoyment.

“Enjoyment seems kind of like a silly answer, but you always want that,” Buckingham said. “You hope there are moments, characters, or visual things that stick in the audience’s brain a little bit.”

Buckingham is proud of this group of students, and hopes the audience will be too, as none of the production has any relation to him.

“None of this is about anything related to me, as it is a student lead thing. This is something where the students get a lot of choice. I can speak very highly of the students, and I’m very proud of them,” Buckingham said.

The show will be Friday, December 8th starting at 7 p.m.; Saturday, December 9th at both 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, December 10th at 4 p.m. All shows will be held in St. Clair Memorial Hall at 215 W 4th St, Greenville, OH 45331.

Tickets are $5 each and can either be purchased online at www.onthestage.tickets/show/greenville-high-school-theatre-club or at the ticket booth the day of.

To contact Daily Advocate Reporter Meladi Brewer, email [email protected].