COASTAL OBSERVER

There’s a killer in their midst.

While the the Waccamaw High speech and debate team prepares to find out who it is, they are also figuring out where competitive speech and theater intersect.

“Yule Be Sorry” is this year’s murder mystery dinner theater fundraiser for the team, known as the Windtalkers. 

Whether it’s a speech before judges or a performance for patrons, the students have to be sharp, clever and quick.

“This goes into a heck of a lot of improv. That’s where their skills really shine,” said coach Ree Lawson. “We don’t know what will happen.”

Each member of the team can think on their feet, she added.

“It’s a lot of thinking about what your character will say, what their reaction to that certain thing will be and what you can do,” said Jackson Bowen, a junior.

The performance follows a story of a movie production team whose film is behind schedule and over budget. Bowen, who plays Cor Porat, breaks the news to the cast that production has to end. Each character’s name in the show is a play on words.

The script was written by Derek Rollins, a Waccamaw High graduate and former Windtalker. It felt like each student had a role curated to their own personalities but Rollins went in blind writing the script.

Lawson told her team that they have been auditioning for these roles since the first day of school.

Lawson had told Senior Dominic Yanez that there was a character written specifically for him.

Yanez performs as Hugh Briss, a movie star with a big ego. 

“Right as we were going through and reading all the character descriptions, I saw, ‘loves attention, hates memorizing lines,’ and I’m like, ‘oh, I know who wrote this one,’ ” Yanez said. “He thinks he’s the star of everything. He is very much like me.”

Experience with public speaking make the acting more powerful, he said.

“Being able to put that logical reasoning into what you’re saying and then adding acting onto it sells it,” Yanez said.

Yanez recalled his first performance as a freshman when he was put inside a bunny costume without a single line of dialogue.

“This year, I have a line every single act. It’s such an odd transition. It’s so bittersweet. I don’t know how to describe that,” he said.

Senior Emerald Roberts plays Dee Livery, another extravagant and fancy movie star.

“She is absolute glamor, movie star, incredibly famous and gorgeous, and so obviously I connect with her for that reason,” she said. “She’s very fun to play. It’s who I’d like to be.”

Roberts said she felt lucky to land a big role in the show since this is her first year with the Windtalkers.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part of the murder mystery,” she said.

AC Allen, a sophomore, plays as the movie’s unsung costume designer. She said she can somewhat relate to her character’s frustrations.

“I have three little sisters at home,” Allen said. 

The show and dinner at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church begins at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 13.

Tickets are on sale for $45 up until tomorrow. Contact Lawson at mlawson@gcsd.k12.sc.us for tickets.