Our school’s theater department puts on three shows a year: the fall play, the spring musical, as well as the theater ensemble show. This year, the fall play is Alice in Wonderland. The Theater department is taking this classic story and bringing it to life for all that attend.
“I’m excited for everyone to see it, just like the set and all the cool costumes and the characters. We’ve put a lot of work into it, and I’m just excited to put it on stage,” said Julianna Tomesello, senior. Tomesello plays the role of Alice in our school production of Alice in Wonderland.
The story of Alice in Wonderland follows a little girl named Alice as she falls down a rabbit hole to a magical place known as Wonderland. We follow Alice as she tries to find her way back home, as she learns some valuable lessons along the way.
This magical place contains creatures of many different types. It has classic storybook characters like Humpty Dumpty, as well as some lesser-known characters and creatures.
To bring these characters to life, the cast has put in “A lot of work, a lot of character work, and a lot of animal work,” said Duncan Evans, senior. Evans plays the Griffin, a mythological creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.
The work these actors put into creating their characters is immense. “We’ve been working since September, it takes a lot of time after school, we’ve all put in a lot of our extra time to do this,” said Joley Myers, senior.
Myers plays the role of the Cheshire Cat. “This is the most different character I’ve played, it’s challenged me, so I’m excited to see how that turns out.” all the work that has been done for this production, by actors, directors, and people working behind the scenes, does not go unnoticed.
The cast in this show are not the only people working hard. They need, and truly enjoy, the help of people who work behind the scenes of the show. “Costumes, my favorite costumes in the play,” said Evans.
Many of the costumes for fantasy shows like this one take lots of time and effort, even for human characters, like the Queen of Hearts.
“I play the Queen of Hearts,” said Ragine Griffin, sophomore. Griffin is another of the many actors who have been working hard to prepare for this show.
“I am most excited for Cue to Cue and pre-Cue to Cue because it means we are so much closer to the show,” said Griffin. It is unanimous with the actors that being able to perform their characters on stage is one of the most exciting parts about being in the show.
“Honestly, I’m excited for everything because this is my first show, and I’m just really excited to be onstage, and all the people seeing the hard work we put into this,” said Christian Rodriguez, junior. Rodrigues plays Soldier Number 1 and truly feels nothing but excitement for this show.
“I love being in here. I love the cast and I love the show,” said Rodriguez. The love of this show doesn’t just come from the cast, but from small things that the audience will also enjoy. Visual effects like character details are just a few of the things that are truly bringing this story to life for the audience.
This show is unlike anything Leesville has done in years prior: It consists of a lot of work to truly bring this fantasy world to life. Leesville’s theater department has been trying new things over the years like their first farce last year, and bringing this first fantasy show to life. Things like lighting, sound, and the set make this story as creative as possible.
The set plays a key role in this, consisting of high platforms, vivid colors, and more. As described by Myers, the slide in the set is very out of the ordinary, and helps and a more whimsical aspect to the show. The slide was carefully constructed by student set builders and is used by many of the wonderland characters in the show. Carefully crafted details like this are what make this show so whimsical, truly bringing wonderland to life.
This show will be taking place in the auditorium, with shows on Thursday the 16, Friday the 17, and Saturday the 18 at 7 pm as well as a matinee show on Saturday the 18 at 2 pm.
