Lights Up: An Update on Central's Drama Program

It’s a new year for theater, and Central’s drama program is already back up and running. With new changes and an upcoming show, this year marks a point of change and discovery for the drama students here at Central. Here’s what drama director Ladonna Wilson and the students have been up to.

The most noticeable change to the drama program is the new theater. Replacing a 400 person seating capacity theater, the new Decker auditorium has over 700 seats (including balcony seating), new light and sound booths, microphones, $10,000 LED lights, and a fly space. “I went [to the theater] last night, I hadn’t been in there in five days, and my heart just swelled again because it is an amazing space.” Wilson explained. “Our old theater has nostalgia for me because I was in there for 20 years, but this one is actually going to show our talent in a way we couldn’t because we were limited in our last space.”

While many students agree with the sentiment that the old Decker had a lot of sentimental and historical value, with the new equipment, like updated sound systems and even a fly system, many are thrilled to explore the new possibilities they have. Drama club president, Wade Schacht, expressed his excitement for Central Drama's future. “Centennial was really gracious giving us their theater for two years, but this new theater is just on a different level than that or the old Decker theater.” Schacht explained. “The amount of capabilities we have, the seating, just the overall vibe of the theater is incredible, and the capacities we have to do incredible things….is just amazing.”

In addition to the new theater, the drama club now has a new greenroom with light up vanity areas and dance studios, which haven’t been finished yet. The students have yet to use the green room and according to WIlson they have “really enjoyed just being able to dance on the stage because there’s so much more room.” However, she looks forward to when students can actually dance in front of mirrors once the rooms will be available. Having a separated greenroom and dressing rooms is a huge improvement, as it will allow the actors more privacy.

This year's fall production is Matilda, which follows the story of a five year old girl trapped in a cruel life, who has a sharp mind and otherworldly powers.The shows are generally picked by asking drama students for suggestions and going from there, but Wilson makes the final call for planning out the drama season. “I have to think about all of the students and not just a couple.” she explained. Matilda was picked to show off many of Decker’s new “bells and whistles,” not limited to aerial silks, flying, and hulking sets. Central Drama is partnering with local aerial arts studio Defying Gravity to train the students in aerial gymnastics. “I want to show people what the referendum dollars have gone towards.” Wilson explained.

The musical was also picked to allow children to come see the show. Central High School has been inviting middle and elementary schools in the district to come see previews of their children’s show for eleven years now, but had to put a pause on that tradition these past two years due to moving theaters and COVID. “I think that live theater is such a special thing and a lot of little kids don’t have the opportunity to do it, and especially with COVID ..and so I want to do that.” Wilson explained.

This year will be the beginning of Central drama for many students. For freshman Amala Willenbrock, being in Matilda marks an exciting, but not unfamiliar, first step. “I’ve done theater my whole life, ever since I was seven.” Amala explained. “I wasn’t planning on doing [theater here], but then all my friends said they were going to do it, and I just wanted to be a part of something since I hadn’t really done any clubs…I just wanted to be a part of a community at Central, so I thought doing a musical would be fun since I already like performing.” Amala will be in both the “Big Kid” ensemble and the acrobats. “I think [the show] will be really really fun, so far I'm loving doing Central drama.”

For senior Eric Lim on the other hand, this will be his second and last year participating in Central’s productions. Eric debuted on the theater scene his junior year with the role of Bill Anderson in Mamma Mia. When asked what made him want to perform again, he said that theater at Central was “just the most fun activity [he’d] ever done [his] whole school year.” His hopes for his final year is that he continues having fun doing theater. Eric is playing Mr. Wormwood, Matilda’s negligent and greedy father, and while he thinks the role of an antagonist will be challenging due to such a drastic ideological differences, he thinks it will be fun as well. He’s especially excited to sing “Miracle” and for his monologue during intermission.

Another student taking on a villain role is senior Wade Schactt, who will be playing Ms. Trunchbull, the horrid headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School. Wade noted that this would be the first time playing a villain character in years, which is an exciting opportunity for him. While the character is female, the role has been played by men on Broadway since its release, a fact Wade was unaware of prior to this year. “When I heard about matilda I didn’t think there would be a lot of exciting guy roles for me to play.” Wade explained. “And then I was listening to the soundtrack and I was like ‘Wait… is Ms. Trunchbull… is that a tenor?’... and I looked at videos and was like 'This would be such a fun challenge.’ So I spent some time working on my accent and how I was going to perform, and it really worked out for the audition. I’m so excited to play [her]” The aspect of playing a woman is something that fascinates Wade, but he wants to make sure the portrayal isn’t too stereotypical. “Trunchbull really isn’t that kind of character, and also it's kind of tasteless to play it like that. It’s not going to be like, a joke that I’m up there playing a woman.” Looking back on his high school career in theater, he has “nothing but positive memories,” and the community helped him find the confidence to become more outgoing about his love for theater. “Supporting people no matter what has really let me come out of my shell.” He’s excited for his chance this year to fly onstage, and hopes that Central drama can take Matilda to nationals.

The title role of Matilda will be played by senior Ellis Mansfield. Looking back on her time at Central drama, she feels that it’s been a learning experience. What made her continue pursuing it throughout the year was the people who she bonded with. She expressed that junior year was a very trying time for her, and that the people in the community that were there for her greatly impacted who she became. “I didn’t really have a lot of confidence going into theater, but now I just feel like I’m really open and out of my shell.” Ellis said. What drew Ellis to the role of Matilda was primarily the songs. One thing she finds challenging about the role is having to embody a child when she’s almost 18. “My voice is definitely more mature, I’m definitely going to figure out how to sound more like a kid.” she explained. “I feel like that’s something that comes with practice.” She has high hopes for the show, saying that she anticipates Central drama “does [their] new theater justice.”

In regards to future shows after Matilda, the drama program has yet to pick a spring musical. “We have talked about doing Something Rotten, which is Shakespeare, but a musical. It doesn’t have many female roles and we have a lot of strong female singers, so I have not really decided if that’s the show.” However, the department just got the rights to The Prom, and might be one of the first high schools to do so. Due to that, Wilson is discussing performing The Prom as a potential spring musical with her thespians. For an annual straight play, one of the shows being discussed was Noises Off, which had to be cancelled in 2020 because of COVID. However, it requires a large rotating set, and Wilson is concerned about having three huge sets this year. “While normally, I would have a whole [season] set, it feels as if we have to do the right shows for our theater this year and in the time that we have”

Central Drama would love to have you at Matilda and their future shows! Rehearsals for Matilda have already started and performances are set to run from November 17-November 20. Stay tuned for The Chronicle’s review of the production.

Official Cast List:

Lars Anderson — Escapolgist

Alice Bell — Little Kid

Cecil Bell — Big Kid

Nevaeh Biclherstaff — Little Kid

Marshall Bigler — Ensemble

Elliot Bush — Big Kid

Bess Chamley — Mrs. Wormwood

Alex Curry — Acrobat/Big Kid

Matthew Ferrer — Nigel

Robin Fitzgerald — Doctor/Big Kid

Caden Hanlon — Sergei

Laney Heggemeyer — Big Kid

Brady Hong — Little Kid

Kelly Hong — Little Kid

Sarah Jacobson — Ensemble

Eric Lim — Mr. Wormwood

Clowie Love — Big Kid

Ellis Mansfield — Matilda

Bella Ondevilla — Little Kid

Evani Pluta — Lavender

Jordan Rinkenberger — Rudolpho

Kate Roth — Ms. Phelps

Sam Ryan — Michael Wormwood

Wade Schacht — Ms. Trunchbull

Soren Schrag — Big Kid

Sierra Smith — Ms. Honey

Adsen Tarr — Big Kid

Audrey Tolbert — Amanda

Janey Thomas — Ensemble

Amala Willenbrock — Acrobat/Big Kid

Daniel Yoo — Bruce