Two weeks ago, Inglemoor’s Valhalla players presented “Lead Rings on the Merry-go-Round,” a murder mystery radio show. The story takes place in San Francisco amid a series of murders in the city. The host of the show, Lancelot T. Terrierre, is the only person who knows who the murderer is and has locked himself in the studio with the rest of the crew. A murder takes place in the studio each time the murderer is discussed. A radio show is something most of the actors had never done, which demonstrates another way that the student body has adapted to virtual learning, senior and director of the show Ariana Riley said.

“We wanted to do a radio show to kick off the virtual year,” Riley said. “It really helped the actors get an introduction to virtual shows and changed the acting dynamic.”

Although the format of the show was new for everyone, Riley said that the rehearsal process was similar to how it was in past years. She said that a big difference this year was that at the end of each rehearsal, they would film the portion of the show that they had just practiced and then send it off to a team of editors, meaning the show was pieced together before it was broadcast to the public.

According to Riley, the show went well, but there are always lessons to be learned.

“Something we learned for the future was to give the editing process more time!” she said. “This time around, the editors were only given about a week, which was way too little time and unfortunately we didn’t get to [review the show] before it went up.  Other than that, it went well!”

Riley said that Valhalla players do have more to offer now that students are more comfortable with virtual shows. In December, they will host Drama Fest, which will consist of seven plays that are student written, directed and produced.

“This time, the actors will be visible, and it will be more like a series of films rather than a show, per se,” Riley said. “It involves so much talent from all grades and styles; it’s very inclusive.”