The Tracy High Performing Arts Magnet is known to perform outstanding plays and musicals. Drama students are already rehearsing for the upcoming fall play, Jolly Roger.

The play will be performed at the Emma Bumgardner Theater at Tracy High as well as local elementary and junior high schools. The cast has been putting in hours of practice to make this play one of the best.

“It’s a very silly pirate play. It’s about a lot of mistaken identities, and there’s a really good chase scene,” Drama teacher Ellen DiFilippo said. 

DiFilippo plays a key role in the play’s production, as she is the director.

“With the tech class, we’re also building the set and making props and costumes,” DiFilippo said, in reference to her full involvement in the play.

The play consists of two separate casts-the gold crew and the green crew, which add up to a total of 14 Tracy High students.

“There are no key roles, they’re a full ensemble,” DiFilippo said.

Tracy High senior Dylan Crivello plays Jolly Roger in the play.

“I think my audition went pretty well,” Crivello said. “I initially wanted to try out for a different character, but my teacher thought I was better suited for Jolly Roger.”

This is Crivello’s first play he will ever perform in, as well as his first year enrolled in drama.

“I think I’m best suited for a musical, something where you can move around a lot. I don’t really like just standing still and talking to the audience,” Crivello said.

Crivello also thinks it will be easier to perform at the middle schools compared to in the Emma Bumgardner Theater.

“Middle schoolers miss some of the mistakes you make up on stage, and high schoolers will notice you did something you weren’t supposed to do,” Crivello said.

Tracy High senior John Wallace plays the role of Nate in Jolly Roger. Although this is his first year at Tracy High, he was involved in the drama program at his previous school and has acted in several plays both inside and outside of school productions.

“We auditioned for our favorite part. All we had to do was read the first few lines, and I got picked for Nate,” Wallace said, when asked to describe the audition process.

The play will also be slightly altered between the performances for the middle schools and the performances at the high school.

“It will be different to perform for the middle schools because we will use less vulgar language,” Wallace said.

Both DiFilippo and the castmembers are excited about the play. Performances start at the end of October. The play will be performed at the Emma Bumgardner Theater on Nov. 6 and 7. Cost of admission is $8.