On Friday, April 11, Pace PLV Theatre debuted its third production, Georgia Mertching is Dead, sponsored by Pride at Pace. The play, written by Catya McMullen, follows three friends, Gretchen, Emma, and Whitney, as they embark on a road trip to another friend’s funeral. Elements of grief, friendship, and struggle are all explored in a comedic way, making light of the tragic circumstances that have brought these friends together. The show had three performances, including an understudy performance, and was performed on campus in the Stephen J. Friedman
room.

The cast and crew interviewed include Lilah McCormack, the director of the production and a senior Digital Journalism major, Meg Dowler, the lead of all three productions and a senior English Writing and Rhetoric Major, and Megan Bourque, the understudy for Whitney and a
freshman Criminal Justice major. While all of these students have varying levels of theater, acting, and production experience, they all had to step up and prioritize the show, which had an overall small cast and crew. The weeks leading up to the show demanded dedication and active
participation, which all of these cast and crew members exemplified.

The idea for performing this show in particular began developing in the summer of 2024, according to McCormack. She and her co-director, Alisha Bhandari, selected and officially licensed the play, and then began casting in mid-November. The very first run-through of the show took place just before winter break, with rehearsals featuring select cast members each time continuing afterward, which could have been anywhere between one and three times a week, depending on whether or not the character was in those scenes, according to Bourque. However, the small cast led to more flexibility with rehearsal times, which worked to McCormack’s advantage.

The small number of people also led to much stronger cast relationships, allowing the cast and crew to truly bond over the experience, having stronger chemistry as a result. These close bonds also led to more riffing on the stage than the audience may have realized, as there were many mistakes or ad-libs that Dowler and Bourque have admitted to, which went unnoticed by the audience since the actors were able to play off one another so well. Dowler, specifically, was clearly having fun with the role of Gretchen, who is pregnant and has many bits and jokes regarding motherhood, pregnancy, and childbirth. Dowler was given the room to make this character their own, which was especially critical given that they did not have an understudy.

While the cast and crew were generally in good spirits and able to persevere, a consistent disappointment among the cast and crew was being unable to perform at Arc Stages this year, a local theater in Pleasantville. While McCormack pointed out the lack of resources the production
had without Arc Stages, namely sets and costumes, it did make this production much simpler to put on compared to others, which was able to alleviate some stress from the production team.

However, Arc Stages has reportedly remained in contact with Pace students throughout this production, even complimenting one of the final scenes in particular, as Dowler described it. McCormack even expressed a desire to further a collaboration between Pace and Arc Stages
beyond the Spring play, since their relationship has historically been positive.

Georgia Mertching is Dead was hysterical but “very human, [a] very real and deep play about loss and grieving and friendship and change in life,” in McCormack’s words. She elaborated on how meaningful this play is or could be for students, particularly grad students or seniors. The fear of losing connections and moving on is a core theme of the play but is just as applicable to the members of the audience watching. The show serves as a reminder that keeping in contact with people is essential, as you never know when the friendships you have built might
fade away, and that grief is unpredictable.