Lake Ridge’s theatre department is changing things up. Their next show that they will be putting on in early December, is called Dear Ruth. However the difference between this and their previous shows is the fact that this one is double casted. This means instead of one cast performing for every show, there will be two casts alternating between shows.

With having the two casts there are a few more challenges that come up. Instead of having one cast running through and perfecting every single detail, there are now two castes which means doing twice the work. Junior, Jasmine Shands has been with the theatre department for 2 years. She believes that although there are challenges, it does have it’s positive side.

“Double casting does somewhat change our usual rehearsals. It’s a lot more of a team effort and you working with your double. Instead of you just focusing on yourself and your character you also have a partner who is looking out for you and helping you along the way,” Shands said.

Freshman, Zada Jones was cast as Ruth, the female lead in the show. As a lead for one of the casts, Jones gets to experience what double casting is like first hand.

“I think the double cast is great. It makes it a lot easier to create a character when you have a someone with the same role to bounce ideas off of. I think it’s going pretty well so far and I’m positive we’ll grow as a family,” Jones said.

For the actors it helps to have someone who is playing the same role as them, but for other members of the cast it means paying attention to more details. Junior, Jayde Owens, is one of the stage managers for Dear Ruth and she agrees that double casting means being more attentive to what’s going on.

“I think the double cast is good for this play, but at times it can get a little stressful. As stage manager, double casting for me just means more people are going to need to know what and when they need to do something, and where it needs to happen,” Owens said.

Double casting has both its ups and downs. It may add more stress in some areas but as a whole it brings the theatre department closer together, therefore putting on a good show.