posted May 18, 2017, 7:49 AM by Sarah Jones
by Rebecca Scharlau
Editor's Note: The Elk Mound High School Drama Club presented Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, adapted by Tim Kelly, produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., Englewood, Colorado.
On Friday March 31st and Saturday April 1st the Elk Mound High School’s drama club performed the popular story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on the stage of the school’s auditorium
“We chose Alice’s Adventure's in Wonderland because several of our senior students wanted to perform a version of the Alice story,” Sarah Jones, director of the play.
Since the beginning of the year, the Elk Mound High School drama department has prepared their play with determination and excitement. It took seven months to get the whole production started and finished.
“We have read-throughs, auditions, and committee meetings on and off for months before we even start rehearsals.”
It was the last two-and-a-half months that really counted. The students rehearsed often, determined to memorize line for line their script. Letting the students usually take the lead, Sarah Jones recalls how hard they all work to make it the best they could.
“During any given practice there were usually some students working on costumes/set/props while other students rehearsed on stage.”
Jevin Stangel, a student of Elk Mound High School and the drama department, played the White Rabbit, a character that came onto the stage near the end of the play. He explained how well the audience responded, and also what it was like to be on stage.
“It was awesome, it honestly feels like nobody else is there, it’s just me, and the stage.”
He went on to say how well all the actors did, and that the whole play was a hit, with no major problems and just a little improvising in the moment.
“I loved all of the strange characters--the Caterpillar, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and Humpty Dumpty, to name a few. These characters, among others, provided a lot of opportunity for creative costuming and makeup, which our costume/makeup crew handled beautifully,” said Sarah Jones about her favorite part.
The best part of this play, supported by Jones, is that it’s a student production. The senior students have a huge part to play in helping with direction and production, the make-up artists and costume designers are all students and even the idea for next year's play was from one of the students.
“We would like to perform a Shakespeare play.”
With this year's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland coming to close, the drama department is already ramping up for next year’s production, hinting that there may be twist throughout the setting, costumes, or maybe both.