by haley monts
Performers in Marshall’s Sly Fox production earned 4th place in the one-act state competition held March 2. The competition marked the third and final round of the one-act competitions, pitting eight high schools against each other in a test of their acting chops.
The play Sly Fox is a fast-paced comedy following the story of the cunning Foxwell J. Sly, played by senior William Wilcox-Cook, and his opportunistic assistant Simon Able, played by senior Sarah Chapin.Pretending to be wealthy and fatally ill, Foxwell cons his neighbors out of riches, exploiting their desire to be generously remembered in his will. Amongst Sly’s victims are the corrupt lawyer Craven, the short-tempered Ander Truckle and his beautiful wife, the miserly Jethro Crouch and the local madam Miss Fancy.
“We just had fun with the whole experience,” junior Marcelo Guzman, who played Ander Truckle, said.
Intertwining subplots, outrageous characters and sudden twists gave the play momentum, and the cast worked hard to bring the essence of their characters to life during the performance.
“Sly Fox is a farce, … so getting into character as Sly, and many of the other characters in the show, is very different from getting into character in a more naturalist show,” Wilcox-Cook said. “Rather than getting into a character, I got into an archetype.”
Rehearsal for the play was “fun but a lot of work” according to Guzman. The state competition marked the culmination of weeks of effort, and the development showed.
“Towards the beginning, it was very … disorganized, and we weren’t really sure what we were working for,” Wilcox-Cook said. “But as the show came together, it became more and more just run-throughs and fine-tuning.”
The end of the competition was bittersweet, according to Guzman, as the cast would rehearse Sly Fox again.
“I love these people,” Guzman said. “I really enjoyed working on this play.”