Two days before the Homecoming parade, theater students gathered in the auditorium to brainstorm ideas for their float’s theme. As each of them threw out an idea, director Erik Archilla figured out a way to include everyone’s input.
The float they ended up designing was “Be the Legend Macbeth” to promote their upcoming fall show of Macbeth.
The float showcased the play’s opening scene where the three witches tell Macbeth that he is going to be the king of Scotland. The set featured cobblestone walls and columns, headstones, vines and cobwebs to resemble a ruined castle.
“So it’ll be kind of a traveling pageant wagon of the play,” Archilla said.
During the parade, Thespian Club officers rode a the truck handing out candy and water. Some theater students walked alongside the float, handing out flyers and candy, and a group of alumni performed as a mime troupe pretending to pull imaginary cars and interacting with the crowd.
The magnet usually begins designing and building the float the week of the parade.
“We always are really fast at building our float,” Archilla said. “It usually takes about two days to throw it together.”
On the first day of construction, Archilla decided to include a large sign on the side of the trailer reading “Be the Legend Macbeth,” along with the show dates and ticket prices. Students also mapped out the structures, props and decorations needed to bring the ruined castle theme to life.
Instead of using the actual set pieces from the show, which are too heavy to disassemble or load onto the trailer, they repurposed old flat boards and columns from previous floats to build the castle structure.
To create the eroded cobblestone effect on the float’s walls and columns, they used a painting technique they learned when working on the stone archway for “Caucasian Chalk Circle.” First, they traced the cobblestone pattern using a stencil in black sharpie. Then, they painted over the outlines and “sponged” the lines to add depth and give the stones a more natural look.
Freshman Sofie Grimes helped with the painting process because she knows how to render stone, or make it look more realistic. On the walls, she added dark grey paint to make the shadows more prominent and a lighter grey to create highlights.
“So it looks more like a rock and less like a cartoony clipart,” Grimes said.
For the props, they chose to give Macbeth a sword, since he has just arrived from battle in the scene and filled the witches’ cauldron with dry ice for added effect.
Junior Reiner Grantham, who plays Macbeth, said he thinks the scene will be really cool since it sets up the entire show and will look cool to the crowd.
Grantham said the best way to captivate the audience is to perform the scene as if he’s already in the show, giving it his all rather than holding back.
“I think we’re okay to just give them that little taste of the show and then see if entices them to have another bite,” Archilla said.
Grantham hopes to give a good performance where people will want to come see the actual show or at least tell other people about it.
“I really hope I’m able to give that kind of performance,” Grantham said.
On the second day of construction, theater students finished painting the flat boards and columns, while senior Veronica Fenoglio-Kushera sketched a rough layout of how the float would be arranged on the trailer, which they will hook up to Archilla’s truck for the parade.
On the day of the parade, Fenoglio-Kushera and the tech theatre students assembled the float’s structures onto the trailer. They positioned the walls at the corner to serve as a backdrop, then placed the columns at the back and secured everything to the wooden floor of the trailer. The headstones were nailed down and the cauldron was set at the front. Finally, they added vines to complete the set dressing, and the float was ready for the parade.
Junior Annabelle Carias participated in making the float this year because they love the “construction aspect” of theater. Carias said it was a lot of fun building this float because of its medieval European dark fantasy aesthetic.
“There’s definitely going to be some influences of Gothic styles of architecture,” Carias said. “And for me, that is like my favorite.”
Many theater students volunteered to participate in the parade, whether by walking alongside it or helping assemble the float. Many of those who stayed after school to design and build the float were looking to gain hands-on experience in tech theatre.
Grimes decided to help out with the float this year to learn about theater construction, design and props.
“By doing the float, I’ll know more about how [theatre] operates and where everything goes and where I can find all the stuff,” Grimes said.
Freshmen Eva Attel and Parker White also said they hope to gain more experience in the technical side of theatre since they’re mostly performers.
“I really like to be involved in all the sides just to see how everything comes together,” White said.
They both helped create a float last year at West for their “Legally Blonde” show. This year, they’re learning new techniques, like creating an eroded stone effect, since “Macbeth” is a very different show.
Attel said she’s most excited for the people at the parade to see their beautiful architecture and paint style since it’s not something they normally see at Homecoming.
“Since it’s gonna stand out, more people might want to come see the show,” Attel said.
Archilla hopes to win an award for this year’s float. He said they always manage to do so because they make their floats interactive with the audience.
“They’re not just watching our parade go by, but we always have something fun happening on it that catches the eye, and it’s fun,” he said.
The parade is a great opportunity for the theater magnet to advertise their fall shows to community members who don’t follow their social media or have never been to a show before. Archilla hopes this year’s float will draw an even bigger audience.
“I think if we get 10 to 20 people that have never been to the show before, that’s a win,” he said.
