Senior Sophie Singer, a veteran theater performer at Loomis Chaffee, knew that Darcy and Elizabeth was the play for her. 

The short romantic comedy, which opened Tuesday, February 3, in the Black Box Theater to a full house, was adapted by Jon Jory from the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. 

The novel and one of its film adaptations are favorites of Sophie and her mother. “I wanted to do it so she could watch it. … She loves it with all of her heart, and I’ve seen it so many times with her,” said Sophie, who played one of the lead roles, Elizabeth Bennet, in the one-act version of Austen’s romance. Sophie’s mother wasn’t able to travel to Connecticut to see the play live, but she can watch her daughter in the show as often as she wants. Tuesday night’s production was recorded. 

As the playbill says, “When the independent-minded Elizabeth meets the enigmatic Mr. Darcy, she is determined not to let her feelings triumph over her own good sense. Is it possible for Elizabeth and Darcy to look beyond his pride and her prejudice?” Ultimately the answer is yes. 

Playing Elizabeth, Sophie said, was an exciting opportunity. “She always has so many thoughts in her head, she has so many feelings that she is experiencing at the same time,” she said.  

The same might be said of Sophie, who was experiencing the joy of performing while also knowing her time on the Loomis stage was coming to an end. The second and final showing of the play is Wednesday, February 4, and it is the final full Loomis Chaffee production in which Sophie will be involved. “That’s a little sad,” Sophie said. Performing, she said, had helped her “grow as a person and find my confidence.” 

Mr. Darcy was played by a newcomer — sort of — to the Loomis stage, junior Beckett McCamish, son of Theater Director David McCamish. David did not direct this play — English teacher Will Eggers did — so David viewed his son from the seats. This was Beckett’s first time on the stage as a student, though he did play young Shrek when Shrek The Musical was performed on campus in 2018.  

“Very proud,” David said after the show. “I feel great warmth and excitement. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him on the stage.” 

Beckett said he enjoyed the experience, “and all the people in the cast were really fun to be around. It was a little surreal, having all the people in the [audience] because usually during rehearsal, it’s empty space. So it was a little scary, but it was good.” 

Senior Frieda Bilezikian played Kitty Bennet and Mrs. Gardiner. Like Beckett, this was her first time on the LC stage. Her parents made the two-hour ride from Massachusetts to see her perform. “I’m so proud of her to put herself out there,” her mom, Nancy, said before the show. 

Frieda said she was encouraged by friends to give the stage a shot. Minutes after the play ended, she reflected on the experience. 

“It was crazy,” she said. “People make it look so easy when they’re performing, but you really have to take yourself out of your body and be like, ‘I'm not me right now.’” 

Next year Frieda will attend New York University.  

“I’ll be studying dramatic writing, so screenwriting and playwriting, and i thought this would be a great opportunity to see what it is like to be an actor who [performs what others write],” Frieda said. “I thought it would help me to write clearer and better and more interesting if I understood what it was like to act.”