Medicine Hat High School students rehearse for Plan 9 From Outer Space: The Plan Goes Wrong. (Photo Courtesy Chris Brown)

By Chris Brown

Original play runs March 25-26, April 1-2

Just like they planned: Hat High drama students getting it right and wrong

Mar 23, 2022 | 2:54 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It feels right for students at Medicine Hat High School to be back on stage, even if they know everything is going to go wrong.

Forty-five cast and crew are staging the original production Plan 9 From Outer Space: The Plan Goes Wrong.

Director and drama teacher Richard Grafton rewrote the script of the infamous B-movie film to be a play within a play.

“We’re actors that are acting out a bad play that we don’t know is going wrong at the time,” explains KJ Johnson, who plays the alien ruler.

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Johnson says it’s one disaster after another, from forgotten lines to things falling from the ceiling and performers getting hurt.

But the show goes on, as it must, and it’s up to Johnson and his cast mates to get past all the mishaps.

“Mr. Grafton did a great job of flipping the script to make it more comedic and with a little bit more obvious fails,” Johnson says. He adds the cast has captured the spirit of the play.

“Everyone is great at acting at doing things wrong, if that makes any sense,” he laughs. “They’re all really great, all have had great experiences. It’s been a great road to drive on.”

The show runs at 7 p.m. March 25-26 and April 1-2 at Hat High’s theatre. Tickets are available at tixx.ca. Home viewing options are also available and you can email Grafton at Richard.Grafton@sd76.ab.ca for more details.