“All The World’s a Stage” and in 2020, even Zoom becomes a stage as Drama Club presents a radio adaptation of It’s a Wonderful Life.

“It’s a Wonderful Life has many life lessons tangled throughout the story,” Gracie Duffy, junior actor who plays the bridgekeeper and the stage manager, said. “It teaches people that when you think you are at the end of your rope, you should think about how [your absence] affect and change people around you, and how you have already touched so many.”

This timeless classic follows George Bailey, a man who is thinking of taking his own life when Clarence, an angel, takes George through time as if he had never existed in order to prove how much good George put into the world.

This radio adaptation of the 1946 film has little changes to the plotline, but the way that it is presented as a radio show makes it feel much different. The radio-style of the play makes it a different listening experience for the audience as well as for the actors, Duffy said.

“It’s definitely an interesting experience, but it’s so unique from anything I have ever done before,” Duffy said. “When you are performing into a microphone with a headset on, you have to pay attention to all the background noise in your house. Even the smallest thing like a door closing can be picked up, and that makes the editing process much harder.”

The radio-style of this production also changes up what it is like to work as a technician on the show. The technical team has to worry about the sound design and the editing of the production, without lighting or scenic design to worry about. This emphasis allows technicians to focus more heavily on the sound design and perfect it, Jacob Swiatek, junior stage manager, said.

Although theatre is different right now, thespians are embracing the opportunity because “we still get to do theatre,” Swiatek said. “For me, theatre gets me away from thinking about what’s going on in the world and transports me into the ‘world’ we are working in.”

Although this production has been modified from other winter plays of years past, there is still an important story being told and shared that will resonate well with audiences, Swiatek said.

“The biggest thing I have learned from working on this show [and with this story] is that there’s value in not just doing ‘great things,’ but doing small things in a great way,” Swiatek said. “I think that can really resonate with others because most people try to do big and amazing things, but it is not about those big things in life.”

LZHS Drama Club’s Production of It’s a Wonderful Life will stream for free on December 18 and 19 at 7 pm, and December 20 at 2 pm. For the link to watch the show, click here. In the meantime, final preparations are underway and the story is becoming more relevant as the holidays draw closer.

“It is a story about failure, family, and following your dreams,” Duffy said. “Three things that will never go out of style.”