Herndon High’s Theatre Arts Director, Mr. Scott Pafumi, sat down with the Stinger to talk about We The People, the HHS Drama Club’s newest play, available to stream tonight at 7 p.m. If you have yet to purchase a ticket, do so by going to www.herndondrama.org/. Tickets are free, though a donation would be greatly appreciated. The play is prerecorded, meaning it can be watched at any time after getting tickets.
We The People was conceived in part by Pafumi back in his college years at Virginia Tech. Pafumi and his theatre troupe created and performed We The People as a one-act play, centered around the theme of what it means to be an American. “The original idea came out of that college project,” Pafumi told the Stinger.
Pafumi later resurrected the play in 2008, for Westfield High School’s student theatre. The play was expanded to become a complete production, furthering the discussion of race, gender, and other social issues. “After every show we’d have a talkback with the audience, to get people’s thoughts and feelings and reactions,” said Pafumi, whose production would be asked to perform at the Fairfax County Government Center the following year.
As Herndon High’s theatre director, Pafumi felt We The People was especially relevant this year in the midst of nationwide political unrest and division; “I definitely thought the timing was right.” Pafumi did not originally intend for the play this year to be a video project, though, for obvious pandemic-related reasons, a change of plans had to be made.
We The People tackles a wide assortment of social topics, from racism to sexism, from criminal justice reform to immigration. “This play has given a voice to topics and issues that people don’t usually like to talk about,” Pafumi said. The play is structured around the different perspectives that Americans have on the world around them, and how to go about encouraging unity and acceptance.
“The play has always been grounded in the idea that America is an experiment,” Pafumi said, “We take great pride in this country, in being a place of religious freedom, and free press, and all that, which is amazing, but when that Constitution was written, it was not free for everybody.” We The People explores the possibility of a full realization of those original ideas of liberty and justice for all.
The cast of We The People was working under very different circumstances compared to a normal production, having to face new challenges in order to create a finished result. Not only would the play be done virtually with separately-made videos that would have to be edited together, but the personal, introspective nature of the play could also be slightly uncomfortable for the cast to work through. “I’m very impressed with their vulnerability, of how much they were willing to share about themselves,” said Pafumi on the cast. Pafumi and the cast are all very excited to see the community’s reaction to all of their hard work.
We The People is available for streaming starting tonight at 7 p.m! The HHS Drama Club has worked extremely hard to pull off this project, so show them some support!