The Hungarian Culture Union and Portola’s First Ever Student-Led/Club Led Performance

May 9th, 2024

Alex Lingerfelt

At 4:30 pm, on Thursday, May 2nd, students from Portola High School gathered backstage at the Portola High School Performing Arts Center. In just over two hours, these students would be performing in front of an audience in Portola’s first-ever student-led performance.

Actors doing a quick rehearsal before show time (provided by Aiden Pannek)

As some background for the performance, Quietude on the Danube’s program states, "Quietude on the Danube is the first student-led/club-run performance at Portola High School. The Hungarian Culture Union has organized the performance in hopes of diffusing the knowledge of Hungarian history to individuals through entertainment. Furthermore, the production was also organized in hopes of providing a theatrical experience to those who normally don’t have schedules that allow for greater theater participation (athletes, part-time workers, et cetera). The script of Quietude on the Danube has been worked on since November 17th. The following months were then used to see what was needed for a student club to rent out the theater (to which student-theater use has never happened before at PHS). Recruitment began around late February, Rehearsals began on March 23rd. Throughout the process of renting out the theater and conducting rehearsals, many obstacles had been overcome. At the very bottom of this ‘program,’ there are a series of thanks to all the staff members who’ve helped bring performances at Portola into a new frontier.”

Flyer hung around school before the performance

But before discussing how the actual performance went, it is important to further elaborate on how the performance came to be. Right after his school’s fall play, Alex Lingerfelt (the author of this article) thought it would be great to have another theater-like experience at Portola High School, especially because in the 2023-2024 school year, Portola only hosted one play. Soon Alex Lingerfelt began writing a draft of a script based on the events of the Hungarian Revolution. The synopsis of the script is how both great powers of the world--the United States and Soviet Union--competed to either influence the people of Hungary to revolt (United States) or to keep total control of the satellite state (Soviet Union) ultimately leading to bloodshed as the Soviet Union violently put down the revolution and proceeded to arrest (and later execute) former Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Hungarian People's Republic: Imre Nagy. The imprisonment of Imre Nagy is the climatic point right before intermission. After intermission, it is explained how Soviet control only contributed to the Hungarian people being sullen as they lacked sovereignty. However, many years later, a promising activist named Viktor Orban contributed to Hungary gaining sovereignty from the Soviet Union. After some years Orban would win an election becoming prime minister…that is until his party lost an election to socialists in 2006. With great ambitions and determination, Orban reopened the wounds of Soviet occupation, discrediting the current socialist government; recounted Hungarians lacking autonomy throughout history, such as Ottoman, Austrian, German, and Soviet Rule; then concluded his rant by promising self-determination through a system of government he views as an ill-liberal democracy. The Hungarian people elected Viktor Orban and Fidesz in a landslide. Orban is still the prime minister of his party (as of 2024).

Churchill, Truman, and Stalin discuss the fate of Europe after WW2

By far the hardest part of organizing the performance was abiding by others' schedules. As mentioned in the purpose of the play, the main goal--besides showing that student-theater use is possible--was to bring the theatrical experience to those who normally don’t get a chance to participate in theater. This includes athletes, part-time workers, and overall people whose schedules normally do not allow for great theater performances. In the following days after April 7th, rehearsal was conducted three to four times a week. And there was only one rehearsal day in the theater before the show.

How the theater looked before setting up for show day

To reserve the theater, cooperation with the Club Advisor, VAPA Department, School Technician, Administration, and even the Principal was required. The club advisor has to be willing to use their free time to monitor student use of the theater, the VAPA Department needs to make sure there are no conflicts in performances and reserved dates, the administration has to provide documents, and the principal has to sign certain documents and bring up the event with other principals of the school district. This process was long and could have failed at any point due to a lack of interest/cooperation with one of these individuals/departments. However, each individual and department did their job quickly and efficiently, thus allowing this historic event to occur. Theater limitations and abilities were determined the one rehearsal day before the performance. Lighting, programs, and concessions were part of the “tech” used in the theater. Lighting was manned by skilled actors, programs were distributed digitally, and concessions were provided and sold by two members of the concessions team.

How backstage looked during the show

Though the club's first and only rehearsal in the theater was extremely choppy, with the placement of props, lighting cues, and acting cues, show day, the performance went great. As an actor in the performance and the writer, director, and producer of this performance, I didn’t notice a single mistake. I’m sure some happened, but the production felt so smooth not even I noticed one, and if the writer-director-producer did not notice a mistake, then the audience noticed none too. I am so proud of every member of the cast, and their accomplishment should not be understated. Everyone, whether that be the lead role or the walk-ons, every cast member came so far. Props had a minimalistic design and added a great deal to the performance. An example of a cylinder stick from Home Depot represented a Soviet weapon. But don’t just take my word for it: below are some interviews with two actors and an audience member.

Actress Jewelia Libejas replies to the two questions below by stating:

Q: What was your favorite part of being in performance?

A: "My favorite part of being in the performance is working with all the cast and learning more about Hungry. It was a very fun and engaging experience!"

Q: What made this performance different from past productions you’ve been in

A: "I would say what makes this performance different from past productions is the community theater vibe of the show. I’ve never been in community theater but after this production I would definitely be more interested in the idea!"

Furthermore more, audience member Jude Cervantes answers the following questions below:

 Q: What was your favorite part of the performance?

A: "The story was informative [in] a part of the world I doubt many of us here know much about"

Q: What made this performance different from past productions you’ve seen?

A: "The play was pulled off very well with seemingly no budget at all"

“The whole thing was much better than anything I thought a small club could pull off”

Viktor Orban in the election of 2010

There were also some long time veteran actors in the audience too. One of these actors, David Sloan, replied to the questions as follows:

Q: What was your favorite part of the performance?

A: “My favorite part of the performance was the unique matter in which the actors were able to create a perfect comedic flow while not having many gaps in between. While there may have been gaps in which humor was separated, they were filled by the genuine educational script that was clearly well-thought through and very much so respectable. The actors’ individual choices were what ended up making the show as great as it was. Personally, knowing what some of the rehearsals looked like, I was initially skeptical of how the show would turn out on performance day, but I can truthfully say that I was blown away by everyone’s performance, however big or small. One of my favorite performers, Alex Lingerfelt (who most notably played Elvis and Viktor Orban) would constantly leave me on the edge of my seat, howling at his perfect delivery and body language. The choices he and many others made onstage clearly showed conscious recognition of the story they told and their characters.”

Q: What made this performance different from past productions you’ve seen?

A: “This performance differed from past productions I’ve seen in a few ways. First off, the intimacy. It’s oftentimes hard to achieve an intimate environment where you are comfortable to laugh and enjoy the show wholeheartedly in even a small space like a Black Box Theatre. However, this cast was able to do so on the main stage, which is very applaudable in itself. Getting to know what went into this show from the Hungarian Culture Club’s President and the cast allowed me to recognize several things. It’s incredibly commendable that the script had been in the making since November and it’s absolutely recognizable in the end product. Second, the humor in this show was exactly what I wish for when I watch a show. The combination of physical, satirical and deadpan comedy was perfect. Luke Pannek’s improvisation of lunges and stretches while waiting for Lingerfelt as Elvis felt so natural for the show, it almost fooled me for being in the script! Aiden Pannek’s performance as an Ensemble member stood out as one of the most impressive of the night, having me gasping for air when he was continuously protesting. Finally, Jay Shin’s dynamic acting completed the performance for me as the cherry on top, keeping me constantly engaged and wanting more. Truthfully, this show was better than some shows on Broadway.”

TV Backstage depicting the performance live

One article cannot explain all the planning, leaning, and ambition that went into the performance. An entire book must be written to fully outline all the work each individual put into the performance. That being said, I remember with first preaching the idea many told me that such an idea of a student-led performance was quixotic. “It takes at least 20 people to run a performance” and “Doing so is far too hard for students to handle” were some accusations from my classmates. Some of these comments were out of general concern for the production, others were out of jealousy, trying to discourage the success of the event. But as performances at Portola are brought into a new frontier, let the quote from Alexander the Great reign true how “Nothing is impossible to them who will try.”