The Upper School fall play “Sense and Sensibility” tested our students’ talents in many ways — having to adopt a British accent, moving scenery on wheels and integrating a puppet into the play — and most notably, having the audience seated on the stage, only feet from the performers. Here, two of the lead actresses, Saria Rosenhaj and Nicole Morris, write about how that affected their performances.

Pictured above: Nicole Morris, left, and Saria Rosenhaj, right.

By Saria Rosenhaj
During “Sense and Sensibility,” the audience’s emotions and reactions were constantly pressing against my peripheral vision. It was shocking and exhilarating to be surrounded by so many people. Some formality seemed to have been stripped away in this proximity. I felt more human, less stiff. I felt freer to riff off other actors on stage, especially with Nicole.

It was so much fun to be Nicole’s sister. (She is one of my best friends, so we already had a good connection.) I often felt guilty about how hard a time my character, Elinor, gave her character, Marianne.

Nicole’s nonverbal reactions on stage were brilliant, and I loved the fact that they were often directed at me. We processed so much of what people were doing by checking in with each other. One of my all-time-favorite Nicole interactions was after Robert Ferras did his “cottage” monologue. Her look to me clearly said, “What in the name of God’s green earth just happened to us?!”

By Nicole Morris
The audience played a huge role in the impact of our performance and keeping our spirits high as they reacted to the funny spins and crazy chair and couch entrances that “Sense and Sensibility” offered. I have never performed in that way before, and I hope the audience experienced the same amazing twists and turns that we took physically on stage.

Saria and I have been friends since ninth grade, so being a lead with one of my best friends made doing the play 10 times more enjoyable. Our two characters, Marianne and Elinor Dashwood, represent “Sense and Sensibility.” It kind of reflects our relationships with each other. Even though we both sometimes think the opposite or go different ways, we both keep each other grounded and that is one of the most amazing qualities of our friendship!