In this year’s fall play, Picnic at Hanging Rock, everything is not as it seems when boarding school girls and their teacher disappear under bizarre circumstances. Set in early twentieth century Australia, Appleyard College is a premier all-girls boarding school. Its headmistress, Mrs. Appleyard, allows her students to take a Valentine’s Day picnic up to Hanging Rock, a large monolith with dangerous peaks. Time seems to stop as four of the girls go on a hike with the intention of seeing the Rock up close. When they fail to return, frenzy ensues. Search parties are sent to Hanging Rock, suspects are interrogated, and secrets are revealed. But the question remains: what happened to the missing girls?

The production is directed by Ms. Hackett and has an intimate cast of sixteen Marymount Players. Senior Laila Rodriques, who plays Mrs. Appleyard, describes Picnic at Hanging Rock as “an all-girls version of Lost…the story is so twisted that everyone will be clinging to the edges of their seats in anticipation of what comes next.” The set, designed by Mr. North, adds extra feelings of suspense with multiple platforms at different heights making the audience feel that they themselves are involved in the mystery. Assistant Director Charlotte Muth, a junior, states, “[Picnic at Hanging Rock] is a very interesting play and we haven’t done anything like it in a while. I won’t spoil it for you. You’ll have to come see it yourself.” There will be four performances:

• Friday November 7^th at 7pm,
• Saturday November 8^th at 2pm and 7pm
• Sunday November 9^th at 2pm.

Save the date, and look forward to having a good time!