'Help Desk' features relatable customer service experiences
The MFL MarMac Middle School play, “Help Desk,” will be presented in the high school auditorium in Monona at 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27. It will also be livestreamed Friday night. Cast members include (front, left to right) Karish Kluth, Mariah Moser, Cora Keehner, Morgan Jacobson, Jerica Wille, Audrey Ruff, Josh Schirholz, Isabella Torkelson; (back) Maria Stavroplus, Addison Buchheit, Emma Koether, Scott Campbell, Mackenzie Bachman, Mattie Hallberg, Aleyah Griffith, Hailey Bouzek, Mel Crook, Kiarra Young, Bayleigh Wood, Savannah Whiteaker and Samantha Bickerton. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Hailey Bouzek (left) is one of around 20 students involved in the production. One of her roles is Dani, a customer service manager who has to fire an employee played by Emma Koether (right). “You have the crazy customers in a few of the scenes, or you have the crazy help desk person who’s not useful at all. Each one has their own personality and way of responding to the phone calls,” said director Michelle Hontz.
Kiarra Young will play the character Marcus, who calls into the help desk about holey socks. It’s one of 12 different customer service scenarios portrayed in “Help Desk.”
Scott Campbell plays Vinny, who works for a package delivery company. He described the play as "funny and weird at the same time, which is what I enjoy. I’ve definitely grown more confident because I usually don’t do goofy stuff like this.”
MFL MarMac Middle School play is March 26 and 27
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
Audience members will encounter a relatable set of customer service scenarios when the MFL MarMac Middle School Drama Department presents the play “Help Desk” this weekend in the high school auditorium in Monona.
In-person performances will be held at 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27, and the show will also be livestreamed Friday night. Tickets will be available at the door, while those for the livestream event can be purchased at www.showtix4u.com/event-details/49056.
Director Michelle Hontz described Help Desk as a variation of 12 different customer service scenarios. Each scene includes its own scenario of a customer calling in for help to a different business, such as Petco, IKEA or a credit card company.
“You have the crazy customers in a few of the scenes, or you have the crazy help desk person who’s not useful at all. Each one has their own personality and way of responding to the phone calls,” Hontz said.
Hailey Bouzek is one of around 20 students involved in the production. She plays two contrasting roles, Angel and Dani.
“For Angel, I’m calling in to the help desk because I can’t log in to the [computer] network. That’s kind of like how I act,” Bouzek explained. “For Dani, I’m a manager and I get to fire one of the characters. I get to yell and really express how that person feels. It’s out of my comfort zone and it’s fun to be acting and not being yourself.”
Fellow students Kiarra Young and Scott Campbell have also enjoyed getting the opportunity to express themselves.
“I play Marcus and I’m calling in because I’ve worn my socks for a really long time and they got a hole in them and I’m just outraged,” Young shared. “I enjoy it because I have to be really upset, and that’s kind of similar to me, because I get upset easily.”
Campbell plays Vinny, who works for a package delivery company. “He’s like a receptionist, and he can get irritated easily and is more of a video game player,” Campbell said. “Mine is a little more goofy because it involves a bouncy castle instead of just a regular delivery. It’s funny and weird at the same time, which is what I enjoy. I’ve definitely grown more confident because I usually don’t do goofy stuff like this.”
Out of the 12 scenarios, Hontz said only two connect to one another. Because of the uncertainty of the pandemic, she felt this style would work best for this year’s play.
“Back in November when we decided to go forward with it, we weren’t 100 percent certain it could even happen,” she said. “We picked this play where one scene has four characters and that’s the max of any scene. Otherwise, the majority of them are just two characters so they are spread out.”
“It also had the option to be on Zoom,” she added, “so you could’ve done it online and they would just chat to each other across the page. That’s why we were like, ‘Let’s go with it.’”
Unlike previous productions, Help Desk has no key role or character. That’s one of the aspects Bouzek likes best about it.
“There are a whole bunch of different scenarios and everyone gets an equal amount of playing parts,” she commented.
Hontz said students memorized their lines early, allowing she and assistant director Karla Hanson to help them develop their characters’ quirky personalities.
“Right now, I’m trying to push more, like ‘Why don’t you try that. That would make it really funny. Hey, get out of the desk chair. You need to move around more,’” she said. “It’s nice because we can coach them a little more because they have the other things down.”
The students have also gotten more creative with the set and costumes. They’ve designed business signs for their help desk cubicles and brought in items from home to decorate callers’ homes.
“Costumes, since they’re simple and you’re just an everyday character, they got to make their own decisions,” Hontz said. “It’s been nice to have their input and be more of a facilitator than a director.”
She’s also appreciative of the Help Desk backstage crew, which is a set of high school students. Hontz said she’s trained them since they were in middle school, and they take direction well.
“I don’t know what I’d do without them,” she quipped.
Hontz believes the audience—especially adults—will most enjoy how relatable Help Desk is.
“Calling a credit card company, I think that’s something we can all be like, ‘Oh, that’s so frustrating.’ Or changing a phone service, where trying to add something can be a disaster,” she said. “They can laugh at it because they’ve been there, done that. It is a comedy, so there are a lot of random things that might surprise them too.”
The students are excited to show off their hard work.
“They realize they’re lucky to even have it this year, so maybe they’re more appreciative and that makes them strive a little more,” Hontz said.
