The Pali Drama Department performed their fall play, “The Barker”, from Nov. 1 to Nov. 17. The play was directed by drama teachers Cheri and Monique Smith and showcased the talents of Pali students, who served as cast and crew members.

“The Barker”, created in 1927 by Kenyon Nicholson, follows circus ringmaster Nifty Miller and the rest of the members of a travelling show. Chris Miller, Nifty’s son, visits his father with the request to travel with the circus to which Nifty agrees. Nifty is intent on having his son become a lawyer, but his plans are put in jeopardy when Chris falls in love with Lou, the snake charmer.

To secure a spot in the play, students were required to audition. Junior and cast member Tyler Collin described the auditions as, “not very stressful, [but] long, with people waiting outside for hours.”

Once they made the cut, actors with speaking roles were required to rehearse two hours each day after school for a month. For the last two weeks, cast members without speaking roles came to the rehearsals. Furthermore, there were six tech rehearsals, each of which lasted six hours.

After hours of work, and an opening weekend, “The Barker” was postponed due to bad air quality caused by the Southern California wildfires. Originally scheduled for Nov. 9 and 10, the final shows were rescheduled for Nov. 16 and 17.

Finding time to reschedule wasn’t the only challenge the cast faced; they had to inform those who had already purchased tickets that the play was canceled, and that parts of the set were rented only for the original dates of the performance. The play wasn’t canceled solely because “the company we rented from let us extend our time with the tent,” Collin said. “Eventually [we] worked it all out, and we got to put on our show!”