WHS students soar to new heights in two very different productions
Students from Wauconda High School have been preparing for their spring plays, "Lookingglass Alice" by David Catlin and "Winnie the Pooh" by Kathryn Schultz Miller, since February.
More than 70 students are participating in acting, creating the sets, and student directing in these two shows.
"The juniors and seniors in our program have been with us through so many challenges, and we wanted to give them something different, something unique, something fun," director Scott Metzger said.
"Lookingglass Alice" by David Catlin premiered at Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago on Feb. 13, 2005, and was developed in affiliation with the Actor's Gymnasium Circus and Performing Arts School. With the physical demands of circus theater - theater that uses movement, aerial, and acrobatic skills to enhance the telling of a story - many high schools are apprehensive to produce shows like "Lookingglass Alice."
To prepare, the drama students attended two workshops at The Actor's Gymnasium in Evanston and brought in one of their trainers to work with the students at the school. The result is a beautiful performance that features students break dancing, tumbling, juggling, walking on balls, and doing aerial acrobatics to tell the story of Alice as she goes through the looking glass and encounters all the characters audiences know and love.
In addition to "Lookingglass Alice," the school will be starting the evening of performances with one act of "Winnie the Pooh" by Kathryn Schultz Miller, directed by the juniors and seniors in the drama program.
Both shows will be presented in traverse staging, where the audience is seated on two sides of the stage. In order to accomplish this, the crew built a unique stage in their existing auditorium, with the audience sitting on the stage within an arm's length of the actors.
This type of staging creates an immersive, interactive and intimate experience for the audience.
"It's very new to the program and many programs around, so I feel like it will be very fun to see what everyone thinks," stage manager Olivia Czyz said.
"This show is going to be such an amazing experience for the audience and students alike," said Metzger said. "There is something for all ages."
Both shows run together at 7 p.m. April 19-22, with two matinees, complete with a meet-and-greet tea party for children younger than 10 at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 22 and 23.
Shows are not sold separately and tickets are for both shows. General admission tickets are $10, $8 for students and children, and can be purchased at waucondadrama.ludus.com. Tickets for Wednesday and Thursday night are buy-one, get-one-free if you use the discount code listed on the website.
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