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Whenever someone asks what play we are doing, I make a point of always trying to gauge their response.. Have they heard of it? Do they like it? Dislike it? Approve or disapprove of it? I'm curious, and it helps me to speculate as to what the reception of the play will be like. When I told people that we would be performing an adaptation of George Orwell's classic novel 1984, I found it to be a polarizing story for many people. Most adults I spoke to read it in high school (I, somehow, avoided it) and based their opinion on it from their experiences reading it in high school. There were some that loved it, and some that hated it. Having never read the novel before I read the script, I went into it without any personal biases, and was able to enjoy it for what it was: a compelling story that warned of a possible and dangerous future for mankind.  As Orwell himself said, "I do not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive, but I believe that something resembling it could arrive. The moral to be drawn from the dangerous nightmare situation is a simple one: don't let it happen. It depends on you." This is a chilling but I think appropriate warning, and just as relevant today as when the source material was written. Though the events in the play did not come to pass in the year 1984, which was barely after I was born (sorry if I made anyone feel old), I don't think that they could not. Moreover, I thought that doing this show so close to a general election would be intriguing, and would open the door to questions and discussions about the government and society as a whole. I am very pleased with the results. Because of some of the negative reactions I received from some adults (not in the majority, but still), I worried that the students might be turned off by the play, and fail to connect with it. It was much to my relief that they embraced it completely, and have managed to have a lot of fun with some fairly dark subject matter. We have been working very hard on this play, and I am excited to share it with you. There have been a lot of twists and turns throughout the process, but we're proud of our work. Thank you very much for coming, and please enjoy the show!

-Chris Hamilton, Director