QHS theatre department to present ‘The Rich Full Life’ on Feb. 6-8

QUINCY — Quincy High School’s theatre department will begin 2025 with the drama, “The Rich Full Life” by Viña Delmar.

Set in the 1940s, the Fenwick family has a challenging family situation. Their 16-year-old daughter Cynthia suffers from a weak immune system. The continuous battle of preventing small colds and viruses so more challenging illnesses do not occur has made an invalid out of frail Cynthia.

But when Ricky Latham, a senior and the catch of the school, asks her to the senior prom, her mother, Lou, sees to it that Cynthia finally has a normal teenage experience. On the night of prom, it is clear Cynthia is falling ill. With the encouragement of Lou, Cynthia leaves for the dance while Lou keeps quiet to Cynthia’s physician and father about her daughter’s health. 

Cynthia becomes drastically ill, leaving Lou to fight the inner battle between what is best for her child and what is best for herself. Everyone in the Fenwick family has an opinion on the matter and makes sure Lou knows she not only made a selfish, wrong decision but endangered the life of her child. The drama takes the audience through the grey area of right versus wrong.

The Fenwick family is played by seniors Gabby Hanchett, Evie Tallcott, Adelaide Teefey and Richard Coleman and juniors Gavin Ginos, Ava Kaelke and Elise Lindgren. Other roles are played by Miriam Teefey and Isaac Gosteli.

“The play is not in the words, it’s in you!” said Stella Adler, American actress and acting coach. Take it from an American Theatre Hall of Famer when she says theatre comes from within. At Quincy Senior High School audiences expect to see polished productions which can stack up against most performing arts high schools. What they never get to see is the talent behind the scenes, our crew.

Technical theatre at QHS continues to grow year by year. So much so that a technical theatre course
was developed in 2021 for students interested in the field. The course takes place outside the
traditional school day. The extra-curricular theatre program continues to thrive for both performers
and interested crew members. This past fall, 54 students applied to be a member of the QHS winter
play, “The Rich Full Life” tech crew. Twenty-four student technicians were selected.

Junior Katelin Barnes stage manages the production with assistant stage managers, senior
Emmaleen Robertson and sophomore Riley Rettenmeier. Seniors Keyarri Holder and Maddie Daggett
serve as student directors while senior Emma Stevens and junior Thomas Keller work sound. The
light booth is run by senior Sienna Rodman and junior Urban Venvertloh. Sophomores Emma Mohr and
Bailey Williams manage props. The stage crew consists of: seniors Mekhi Yu, Kennadi Casper, and
Ivan Smith, juniors Ayden Heagy, Kendell Loertscher, and Addison Gosteli, sophomores Aubrie Daniel,
Oliver Ginos and Jude Steiner-Haubrich, and freshman Joseph Keller, Elisabeth Riley, Kati Riley, and
Gabby Jones.

The upcoming drama, The Rich Full Life, by Viña Delmar is an excellent representation of the hard
work tech theatre students put into a production. Set in the 1950’s, the Fenwick family has a
challenging family situation. Their sixteen-year-old daughter Cynthia suffers from a weak immune
system. The continuous battle of preventing small colds and viruses so more challenging illnesses do
not occur has made an invalid out of frail Cynthia. But when Ricky Latham, a senior and the catch of
the school, asks her to the Senior Prom, her mother, Lou, sees to it Cynthia finally has a normal
teenage experience. Everyone in the Fenwick family has an opinion on the matter. The drama takes
the audience through the grey area of right verses wrong.

The production is under the direction of Meghan Buckley with David Buckley overseeing technical
direction. Show dates are February 6, 7, 8 at 7:00 p.m. in the Quincy Senior High School Theatre.
Tickets are priced at $10 for students and $15 for adults. Tickets are available at the door or online at
www.qps.org/departments/music. For more information, please call the Quincy Senior High School
Music Office at 217-224-3774.