Batavia students write, perform new version of 'Robin Hood'
What happens when a magic spell changes a classic story into a zany, crazy comedy?
That magic spell gives the legend of Robin Hood and his merry band of men a new twist or two, when the classic story gets a mind of its own.
In "The Legend of Robin Hood?," Batavia High School drama students have some fun creating a new version with drama teacher Joshua Casburn.
Performances, which are selling out quickly, are Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 26-28, in the black box theater at the Batavia Fine Arts Centre.
"I had created enough material to put on an eight-hour production," said Casburn. "This is when the real writing began. The cast began the process of providing feedback, deconstructing, then critiquing, and finally revising the script. We cut an entire act."
Casburn was able to identify the writers within the cast and began working with this smaller group of students.
"The writing team provided clever solutions to problems, presented new ways of looking at each character, and devoted impressive amounts of energy to the creative process," added Casburn.
Two of the writers talked about the creative process. Both felt that working with Casburn was a great experience.
"Mr. Casburn is very supportive," said junior Abby Weiss. "We had so much freedom to do what we wanted to do, from writing the lines and character development."
Senior Anastazja Petersen is an experienced writer who earned a first place in story writing at the state level. Working on 'Robin Hood' was a whole new experience for her.
"When I'm writing, I can hear the characters, I can see it," said Petersen. "When it comes to stage direction, I'm not as comfortable and I leave that to others."
The collaborative effort between Casburn and his students results in a play within a play - with the playwright, Harper Callow, as a cast member, outraged at the crazy antics onstage.
In this play, Robin Hood isn't an outlaw and he isn't interested in Maid Marian. The Sheriff of Nottingham is really a good guy and Little John is actually little. In the play, everyone rewrites the script, including Hollywood screenwriters and even Robin Hood himself.
"Though the play has many funny moments," said Casburn, who also directs, "it also asks some important questions about the artistic process. One of the most profound answers was that the more we express ourselves, the more we learn about ourselves."
The talented cast of 30 actors that bring this production to life are all students from BHS: freshmen: George Aigner, Sophie Chahmirzadi, Hannah Curran, Conall Haldeman, Dakota Hill, Maisie Sweeney; sophomores: Cate Rocha, JD Rodriguez, Isaac Schifferer, Kevin Sliczniak, Colin Steele, Cara Voirin; juniors: Brandon Belair, Samanta Echevarria, Erica Knutson, Max Micheli, Mary Clare Perreault, Emily Tae Smith, Meghan Tucker, Abigail Weiss; seniors: Adam Arroyo, Maggie Cerveny, Robbie DiCosola, Anthony Fares, Mallory Haldeman, Casey Kirk, Tori McKeehan, Benjamin Paoletti, Anatastazja Petersen, and Cameron Tucker.
If you go
What: Batavia High School's production of "The Legend of Robin Hood?"
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 26-27; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28
Where: Black Box Theater at Batavia Fine Arts Centre, 1201 Main St.
Tickets: $12 online, $14 by phone. Performances are selling out quickly. Visit <a href="http://www.BataviaFineArtsCentre.org">www.BataviaFineArtsCentre.org</a> or call (630) 937-8930.