The lights went down, the audience quiet in expectation. As the lights came up on the set, something was different. Everything was gray. The Giver, a stage adaptation of the book by Lois Lowry, would take place in black and white. For those of you who do not know the plot of The Giver, it is set in a dystopian society where complex emotions no longer exist. Also, the memories of the whole world no longer exist, except in one room, in the mind of one person. Jonas is a Twelve about to receive those memories. He is the Receiver.

While the play was remarkably tech-heavy, the acting was superb as well.  The lead of Jonas was to have been played by Bailey Singer (9), who was unfortunately prohibited from performing in the first three shows due to a severe concussion. Calvin Zubaly (9) did an amazing job filling in for Bailey.

The Giver was a tech-heavy play.  As aforementioned, the stage itself was in black and white. Each of the characters were in black, white, and gray body makeup. The reasoning behind the makeup and set was that with the absence of emotions came the absence of color. Throughout the play as Jonas receives more memories, he starts to see more color. The bookshelves in the Receiving Room lit up in red, blue, yellow, green, and purple.

Another element of the tech that went into the production was the tech used to evoke the memories. Some of the memories, such as sunshine, were created through the use of light. Others were projections provided by Max Johnson (12), a lake, or the sun setting over the mountains. One of the most amazing things about the production was the effect of snow. It was not a lighting effect, but it was really faux snow.

The Giver was an excellent play, full of things to enthrall and enrapture. The actors portrayed there characters in a way that made them come alive, and the set was fascinating and intricate. The Giver tackled a complicated idea, and left many pondering.  Sometimes it does not matter about the result, it only matters about the choice.