Every year Solon High School’s Drama Club begins the extensive process for finding the perfect piece of work that is sure to enlist a standing ovation. The director, Kristina Ferencie, selects the play, the students audition and rehearsal begins. Then, after two months of grueling work, a miracle of theater is put on for the audience  to see. With SHS spotlighting the arts, the fall play always has a tremendous turnout, and this year should be no different. With this fall’s selection of “The Game’s Afoot,” a whodunnit murder mystery, it’s expected to have no less than a full theater from Thursday to Friday.

Each year Kristina Ferencie goes thorough analysis to find a unique piece. She reads multiple scripts to find a piece that can fit the bill in order to make an entertaining show for all people involved.

“It’s very hard to find a good script [for a murder mystery] because a lot of them are old and just aren’t very interesting to today’s audiences,” said Kristina Ferencie.

But when she found “The Game’s Afoot,” she knew she had found a relatable and doable work that would be lively for everybody involved.

“Its super fun because [it’s] about a bunch of actors,” said Justin Pollak, stage manager. “It opens with a play of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ that all of our characters that are actors are putting on.”

After the Sherlock Holmes play is over William Gillette, one of the main characters, is injured after an attempted assassination. The play later turns into a story about the actors within the show. Although the characters are all actors, the murder is real, and the rest of the show consists of the actors trying to figure out who the killer is, while Gillette attempts to use his detective skills from his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.

The school hasn’t done a play-within-a-play style production for a while, so the show has been a learning experience for everyone. The director even hired an accent specialist to teach the cast how to use proper British accents for more authenticity due to the shows English setting. Sophomore Joelle Fisher, who plays Aggie Wheeler, commented on how much she learned from portraying Aggie’s character, one of many complex characters within the show.

“Aggie [is] so many things, she’s really complicated, so I think this has really helped me [see] the different layers of her character, which I haven’t done before,” said Fisher.

While Fisher had her own individual growth, the cast also gained experience in the form artistic license in which they wrote an introduction to the play that will be put on before the production actually begins.

While the cast has had a festive time honing their skills for this play, the crew has also gained their fair share of knowledge in the use of different props. “The Game’s Afoot” has a multitude of stage effects in which the crew has put in a lot of time and effort into making come to life.

“We have [a] blank firing pistol so it sounds like a real gun…” remarked Pollak.

Additionally, Fisher commented on how she get’s to “break” a bottle over a cast member’s head.

“I get to crack a bottle over one  of my [peers’] back, and it’s really cool because it shatters everywhere and we kept doing it over and over again…” said Fisher.

With these exemplary special effects, intrigue and murder, the entire team expects the show will be very enjoyable. One of the best parts for technical director Joseph Ferencie will be seeing the audience try to unravel the mystery, and make “educated” guesses on who they think the murderer will be. Knowing the end to the play makes it that much more fun for Joseph Ferencie to hear and watch the audience’s reaction.

Regardless of whether the audience guesses correctly or not, the production should be entertaining for people of all ages. Fisher and John Heckman commented that the show can resonate with anyone because of its use of its multiple genres.

“It has just the right amount of comedic timing, with it still being dramatic, and heart wrenching,” said Fisher

A combination that should make for a rare and thrilling show.

“The Game’s Afoot” also distinguishes itself because of the cast and crew selection which can never be repeated.

“One saying that really speaks to me that [the] director Kris Ferencie always tells us, is that we could do this same show in 20 years with the same cast, crew, set and props, but it would be different because through life we have changed and become different people,” said Heckman.

This is your one and only opportunity to see this rendition of “The Game’s Afoot,” as it can not be replicated. It will be playing from Nov. 16, to 19. Tickets are being sold at http://www.shsdrama.org/tickets.html. Look below to find out which night the people you know are acting on.

Thursday and Saturday’s cast: sophomore Giovanni Castiglione, sophomore Joelle Fisher, senior Jenna Freireich, senior Bridget Miozzi, junior Jake Ressler, senior Jessica Uguccini, senior Derek Walton and senior Madison Wessler.

Friday and Sunday’s cast: junior Jeremiah Egolf, junior J.R. Heckman, senior Megan Lebowitz, junior Dana Levine, junior Kyle Maiorana, senior Emily McCulley, senior Emma Moughan and senior Lilly Saunders.