This month, CHS Theatre hosted the political comedy, The Election, written by Don Zolidis. The showings lasted from May 5th to May 8th in Chesterton High School’s Auditorium.

Senior Jayne Bartlett who played as Christy Martin detailed her experience performing, “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so welcome in a cast, and like, I don’t know, I’ve never felt so connected to a group of people.” 

The two-act play features a mock high school student body election between Christy Martin, played by Jayne Bartlett, and Mark Davenport, played by Aiden Corral. Christy Martin is a straight-A student whose goals as the student body president includes serving vegetarian meals in the cafeteria and canceling the school’s football team. Mark Davenport mistakenly believes that no one will vote for his opponent and can accept victory, but a shifty PAC provides Christy with limitless spendings. 

“It’s such a good time and a lot of people turn down the chance to audition because they see it like, as extra days out of their time and they don’t see it as an experience,” Bartlett continued.

Mr. Dakota McCoy successfully directed a satirical play that combined unique additions of screens showcasing the opponents’ rivaling campaign advertisement. The jokes were easy to grasp and played off of typical political broadcasts, adding elements of light-hearted comedy.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Election was unable to premiere at Chesterton High School, as it was originally intended to be shown in 2019. “I took on the largest cast/crew I’ve ever worked with (40+ students), and it’s been great,” Director Dakota McCoy revealed. 

The Election accomplished the establishment of a school-friendly political atmosphere with aspects seen during real-world elections and debates. The play brought forth many twists and turns that were hilariously shocking. The actors displayed a sociable fellowship with one another onstage and highlighted the shared vexation between Christy Martin and Mark Davenport throughout cutting-edge debates.

McCoy furtherly explained his predicament with not being able to host 2019’s spring play, “ …I couldn’t return the scripts, and technically this was an election year as well, so it just fit/came together. The script itself had some poignant satire about the state of politics in our country.”

Senior Aiden Corral, who played as Mark Davenport, shared his experience with his first play, “Before that I never really thought about doing a play before but when I played in the pit for a musical and I saw someone from one of my classes in there performing it encouraged me to [you, like, you know] if they can do why don’t I give it a shot?” 

Chesterton High School’s spring play, The Election, was a hit in the community. From first-time onstage performances to farewells to the theatre- The Election was a momentous play that will be cherished by the audience and actors.

“If you feel like doing something, then I would say to go ahead and give it a try,” Corral encourages students.