This
page (Page #6) has stories and helpful info from behind the scenes
of ArtReach productions! Push back the curtain and check out
all these great ArtReach titles: Treasure
Island, Peter Pan, Wizard
of Oz, Pinocchio, Sleepy
Hollow, Little Mermaid, A
Thousand Cranes, Mulan, Sword
in the Stone, Christmas Alice in Wonderland, About
ArtReach, A Christmas Carol, The
Little Mermaid, Amelia Earhart. Don’t
forget, a Teachers Guide will come with your School Play Package and
contain lots more background articles and info about your play!
"Yo,
ho and a bundle of fun" will take place this weekend's performance
ArtReach's
Treasure
Island - At
the Campanile Center in Minocqua, WI
wjfw.com,
Shauna Johnson
MINOCQUA,
Wis. - "Yo, ho and a bundle of fun" will take place at
this weekend's performance at the Campanile Center in Minocqua.
Each
summer, kids entering 4th through 9th grade find joyful
opportunities for creative expression in the Campanile Summer Youth
Theater Program. The time has come for those kids to show off their
talents on the big stage. This year's production is called Treasure
Island.
"Kids
show off their talents on the big stage."
ArtReach's Treasure
Island - Little Seed Theatre Company, Noosaville AU
"Treasure
Island is about an Adventure that Jim Hawkins goes on where like a
whole magical world of pirates opens before his eyes," said
Elliotte Zeman. These kids put in a lot of hard work memorizing and
rehearsing for the big show and are excited to show off their talents
in the exciting pirate comedy. "It's very active and like packed
with action, there's a lot of music and jokes, I love the jokes. It's
awesome," said youth performers River Anderson, Elliotte Zeman
and Will Janowiec.
"It's
very active and like packed with action."
Little Seed
Theatre Company, Noosaville AU - Beldonnel Elementary School , BC
Claire
Kafka Duda has been the program director of the summer youth program
for 10 years and said its always great watching it all come together.
"We
do a one-week, we call it the workshop portion where we work acting
skills and just games and exercises and then we have a two-week
production where the kids come in on Monday and they audition,
everyone gets a part, and we rehearse for just two weeks and put up a
show at the end," said Claire. The show starts Friday July 19th
at the Campanile Center for the Arts in Minocqua and is open to
public, admission is by donation and all proceeds go right back into
the program.
"We
rehearse for just two weeks and put up a show at the end."
ArtReach's Treasure
Island - Fort St. John, BC, Canada
"So,
our performances for Treasure Island, we've got three times for you
to come catch the show we've got Friday night and Saturday night at
5PM and Sunday at 2PM," said Claire.
The
show runs only about 35-45 minutes so it's great for young
audiences. "It's not to long its not to short there's fun and
funny moments of singing and dancing and just a fun opportunity for
theater in our area," said Claire.
Children's
Theater Group Produces ArtReach's Peter
Pan
Entertainment
& Life - Wellington Daily News - Wellington, KS
Citing
the need for children to be with their peers and have an outlet for
creativity, Twilight Players theater group director Janet West gave
abridged plans for a children's theater workshop this summer in
Greensburg, and his efforts have been met with deep appreciation and success.
"There
are many studies that indicate that children in drama and fine arts
programs develop balance and maturity," West said.
"This
year's favorite was Peter Pan."
ArtReach's PETER
PAN - Ardtornish
School,
St Agnes, SA, Australia
She
went on to say that, especially this year with the interruption of
COVID-19, children need to understand how to be safe and live without fear.
She
said that an important factor in the continuation of the workshop
and production of Peter Pan was to provide the children with a
structure and a safe place to be normal and to play with their
friends, with children their age.
The
Twilight Players is a community theater program that is part of the
Twilight Theater and Community Auditorium, organized a workshop for
young actors and actresses in Kiowa County. This is a weeklong
workshop, and the second annual hosted by the Twilight Players. Last
year, after a week of practice and rehearsals, the young people
started The Wizard of Oz. This year's favorite was Peter Pan.
"Drama
and fine arts programs develop balance and maturity."
ArtReach's PETER
PAN - Ardtornish
School,
St Agnes, SA, Australia
"I'm
absolutely delighted with the way things turned out. They are great
kids and they responded well to teaching. They worked hard and they
are a great group of kids. Loved it," West said.
More
than 100 people attended the performance last Saturday in Greensburg
to watch Peter Pan which took place at the Twilight Theater. West and
his crew hope to continue this traditional workshop for years to come.
The
cast was a long list of young people from Kiowa County. Jiwoo Chang
played Peter Pan, Addy Carrillo played Tinker Bell, Amelia Barnes
played Wendy, Sebastian Favela played Michael, Andy Kyle played John,
Brennan Arredondo played Captain Hook, Cash Lothman played Smee,
Alaina Kost played Mother Darling, Gabi Cervantes played Tiger Lily,
Javan Oberle played the Great Big Little Panther chef, Truman Barnes
played Tootles, Grayson Ballard played Skylights, Evelyn Stokes
played Pearl, Natalie Koger played Starfish and Eli Cervantes played
the crocodile . Savannah Hall was the narrator. She played a key role
as a coach on stage.
"I'm
absolutely delighted with the way things turned out."
ArtReach's PETER
PAN - Ardtornish
School,
St Agnes, SA, Australia
West
ran the show. Amber Cambell was the musical director assisted by
Randy Rinker as pianist. Angelique Libby helped with musical
auditions and Sue Greenleaf provided snacks to make sure no one was
too hungry at rehearsals.
"The
Wizard of Oz" set for Thursday-Sunday run at Reynolds Center
Cast of 37 has
kids ages 7 through 17
The
Yellow Brick Road leads to Southern Arkansas University this week as
Magnolia Arts presents Katherine Schultz Miller's stage version of "The
Wizard of Oz."
ArtReach's
The Wizard of Oz
Just Imagine Youth Drama
School, Tasmania AU
Two
different casts of area young people will perform the play on
separate days. The first cast will be on stage at 6:30 p.m. Thursday
and Friday. The second cast will be featured at 6:30 p.m. Saturday
and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Performances
will be held in Foundation Hall at the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and
Community Center. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the door or
at the Cosmopolitan Ladies Club.
Director
Janet Rider-Babbitt said Tuesday that about half of both casts
consist of seven-to-17 year-old stage newcomers, while the other half
includes young people who have participated in other Magnolia Arts
productions, including last year's musical "Oliver!"
"Munchkins,
talking trees, flowers and flying monkeys!"
Just Imagine Youth Drama
School, Tasmania AU perform ArtReach's The
Wizard of Oz
Miller's
"Wizard" is a non-musical version that lasts about an
hour. The action is moved along by narrators who fill in the gaps
between the play and the famous film.
While
major characters in the total cast of 37 are split between the two
troupes, both casts will share Munchkins, talking trees, flowers and
flying monkeys - consisting mostly of the younger members of both casts.
"They
get to perform every night because their parts are smaller,"
Rider-Babbitt said.
Abby
Pieratt and Bailee Weston have unofficial duties as Munchkin, tree,
flower and monkey wranglers.
"There
are a lot of new kids. We've tried to even them out so there are new
kids with some seasoned kids," Rider-Babbitt said. "It is
working well."
"It's
definitely a boost for their confidence."
Just Imagine Youth Drama
School, Tasmania AU perform ArtReach's The
Wizard of Oz
The
casts have been rehearsing for five-and-a-half weeks. Rider-Babbitt
praises the performers for picking up their lines and acting skills.
"The
kids are enjoying it. There are some kids who were silent when they
first came in, and now they are speaking loud. It's definitely a
boost for their confidence," Rider-Babbitt said.
The
younger people have also taken charge of lighting, sound effects and
props, she said.
The
cast in order of appearance are as follows. The Thursday-Friday cast
members are listed first. The Saturday-Sunday cast members are listed
in parenthesis.
ArtReach's
Pinocchio Performed As A
Six Person Ensemble
The
Advocate, Mt. Hood Community College, Greshem OR
Mt.
Hood Community College MHCC's theater program will be opening its
production of "Pinocchio" on Nov. 5.
The
department has been working to prepare for the upcoming ensemble.
Along with the typical practices, actors have been trained to move
like puppets. Pinocchio, the lead character, also presented his own
challenge: how to make the nose grow?
"What
does it mean to be a real boy?"
ArtReach's Pinocchio
- Siena Heights University, Adrian MI
To
answer these questions, theater teacher Mace Archer sat down with
The Advocate.
Who
are the leads?
Our
Pinocchio is Ezra Virvin. She just moved from Arizona. A gal named
Michelle Chase plays Hickory Cricket. In the Disney story they call
him 'Jiminy,' but in the original, his name is Hickory.
Is
this rendition closer to the original?
It
is. A lot of people go, "His name's Jiminy!" Well&ldots;
no, it's not.
"Pinocchio
was a good lesson for kids."
ArtReach's Pinocchio
- Siena Heights University, Adrian MI
Why
Pinocchio?
This
opening show in the fall is primarily geared toward young audiences,
and we thought the story of Pinocchio was a good lesson for kids. We
also thought it would have really great roles for our actors to play,
as the characters are very bold. They have to play puppets, so trying
to figure out how to move like a puppet has been fun these first
couple of weeks. The goal is to move from your joints.
Is
there a modern twist on it?
I
wouldn't say so. Scenically though, it's great - since it's an
Italian story from the 1800s. The language is very contemporary, though.
"To
be a real boy means to be honest and to be a good friend."
ArtReach's Pinocchio
- Siena Heights University, Adrian MI
Are
there any actors who really stand out?
It's
an ensemble play, which means there are only six actors who play
every role. So that's really fun - to see them transition through
their roles. It's not meant to be one greater than the other, but a
group. I think Ezra is great as Pinocchio.
Does
the nose actually grow?
It
will. Our costume designer is working on engineering and figuring
out how it can physically grow. There's some great videos on YouTube
on how to do it.
"It
has really great roles for our actors to play."
ArtReach's Pinocchio
- Siena Heights University, Adrian MI
As
college students, do you think there's a little bit of Pinocchio in
all of us?
Absolutely.
And the great thing about Pinocchio is that he's trying to become a
real boy, and the idea of what it means to be a real boy, and the
lesson that comes with that: To be a real boy means to be honest, and
to be a good friend, and to be reliable.
THE
JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE PRESENTS THE
LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW
A
GREAT HALLOWEEN CLASSIC
By
Pam Johnson, The Loafer Online
The
Headless Horseman. Oh, the image that brings to mind: a black
cloaked, horseback riding, headless figure holding a jack o' lantern.
Spooky, classic ghost story material. The perfect thing to see this
Halloween season. The Jonesborough Repertory Theatre will
present Washington Irving's well-known speculative fiction, The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow, for three weekends, October 21st-November
2nd.
"The
perfect thing to see this Halloween season."
ArtReach's
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Aurora Theatre, Lawrenceville, GA
Set
in the 1790s in the fictional settlement of Tarry Town, the legend
says that Major Andre, a Hessian soldier who was beheaded by a stray
cannonball during the Revolutionary War, haunts the roads of the area
in search of his head. As Irving puts it, "The ghost rides forth
to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head."
But
there's a lot more to the story than a Headless Horseman. Meet
Ichabod Crane, the nervous, superstitious new schoolmaster of Tarry
Town; Katrina Van Tassel, Ichabod's soon-to-be romantic interest; and
the manly man Brom Bones, who is in love with Katrina. Put these
three together and you have a hilarious, entertaining tale that will
make you laugh, make you empathize, make you cringe, and make you
shudder. And it will make you see something good, something bad, and
something of yourself in each of these characters.
"The
ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head."
ArtReach's
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Aurora Theatre, Lawrenceville, GA
Ichabod
becomes the unfortunate target of Brom Bones and his gang, and the
unsuspecting target of the manipulative Katrina Van Tassel.
"Katrina
is nasty," said Heather Allen, who portrays the beautiful
daughter of a wealthy farmer. "She wants to make Brom
jealous." This she does by showering her attentions on poor
Ichabod. Or should we refer to him as "poor" Ichabod? He
actually has his own devious motives. "For Ichabod, it's not
about Katrina's heart, but about her wealth." So they both are
playing a game of hearts.
Then
there's Brom Bones. "He's a bully," said Derek Smithpeters
who brings this character to life. "He likes to pick on Ichabod,
especially when it becomes known that he believes in ghosts." A
perfect set-up of man versus the legend of the Headless Horseman.
We
have three characters, each with their own agenda. Who is the good
guy? Who is the bad guy? Or is it fair to really label them like that?
"The
Playwright focuses on the lightheartedness & comedy."
ArtReach's
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Aurora Theatre, Lawrenceville, GA
In
talking about people in general, Derek said, "Everyone's not
all truly good or bad; both are in them. Kind of Jekyll and
Hyde." That's why we can see some of ourselves in these
characters. We can identify with their struggles, with their goals,
and with their eccentricities. That's what makes the story ring true.
And
that's also what makes us laugh: poking fun at these truths about
human nature. "The playwright keeps it true to Irving's story,
but she focuses on the lightheartedness, the comedy," said
director Janette Gaines. "Yes, it's intense because there is a
Headless Horseman. But there are times in our lives when we just need
to laugh, and that's what this playwright focuses on."
Janette
and the actors stressed that this show is family friendly.
"It's
light entertainment, and appropriate for all ages." Janette
said. "It's the kind of story to tell around a campfire."
The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow is adapted for the stage by Kathryn
Shultz Miller and is sponsored by People's Community Bank. Rounding
out the engaging cast are Adam Honeycutt, Kari Tuthill, Christopher
Ward, and Tara White.
The
JRT is located at 125½ West Main Street in Jonesborough. Shows
will run on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and
Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $16, general admission, $14 for
students and seniors. To purchase tickets, call the Historic
Jonesborough Visitors Center at 423.753.1010 or go online to www.jonesboroughtheatre.com.
Gaslight
Drama Camp to perform ‘The
Little Mermaid’ this weekend
Summer Drama
Camp features ArtReach Play for Kids to Perform
Tickets
are now available for this year's Gaslight Drama Camp performance of
the Musical "The
Little Mermaid" by Kathryn Schultz Miller.
Performances will be 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
"The
girl with the beautiful, musical voice."
Gaslight Theatre Summer Camp
performs ArtReach's "The
Little Mermaid"
During
a frightful shipwreck, a prince is tossed in the sea and rescued by
a mermaid princess. When she sings him a haunting lullaby, he falls
in love with the girl with the beautiful, musical voice.
Drama
Camp is sponsored by Park Avenue Thrift, The Lounge and Bauman
Matching Grant, as well as many more individual and business donors.
A total of 41 campers began the camp on May 31 and have been working
to create a perfect under the sea experience.
Directors
for this year's camp are Catina Sundvall, Angela Gallagher, Nathan
Sundvall and Sylvia Earhart. Tickets can be purchased in person, at
the box office, or online. Contact the box office at (580)
234-2307 or visit Gaslight Theatre on Facebook.
"A
total of 41 campers create perfect experience."
Gaslight Theatre Summer Camp
performs ArtReach's "The
Little Mermaid"
The
Gaslight Theatre of Enid, Oklahoma, was founded in 1966 under its
original name of Enid Community Theatre. Gaslight is one of
Oklahoma's oldest and most active community theatres. Enid Community
Theatre's organizational mission is twofold: to provide a wide
spectrum of high-quality theatrical entertainment to a broad audience
in Enid and the surrounding communities, and to provide a setting for
nonprofessional actors, directors, designers, and technicians to
learn and practice their art.
ArtReach's
A Thousand Cranes at Hutchison School
Middle
School students learn about Japanese culture and theatre
Congratulations
to the cast and crew of our middle school play on a spectacular run!
The girls ran two plays, "Hana's Suitcase" and "A
Thousand Cranes," in repertory over the weekend. They treated
the entire Middle School to a matinee last week and hosted more than
350 guests during the evening performances.
"Traditions
of Japanese theatre of Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku were used."
ArtReach's A
Thousand Cranes - Hutchison School, Memphis TN
To
prepare for the show, the girls studied the plays in rehearsal, but
also in their original books. Borrowing from the theatrical
traditions of Japanese theatre of Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku, music and
metaphor were used to show the story in an abstracted way in "A
Thousand Cranes." Actors appeared in black traditional koken
costumes* to help the audience focus on the aural and visual aspects
of the props, showing time and place for Sadako's story. In
"Hana's Suitcase," the staging helped the audience
understand events that were happening in present day and the past.
The timeline blurred through creative use of space and lighting.
Shadow play was used to create mysteries for the children to uncover.
Both plays featured real girls and real events during and after WWII
and explored themes of remembrance, hope, and peace.
"The
plays explored remembrance, hope, and peace."
ArtReach's A
Thousand Cranes - Hutchison School, Memphis TN
This
particular show had a rich and rewarding rehearsal process. Our
inclusion director, Rachel Shankman, a second generation survivor of
the Holocaust, met with the girls to share her family's story. Her
conversation helped them understand what happened to the survivors
after the liberation of the concentration camps. Our cast also took
time to meet with Lara Hana Brady and her father George Brady. Mr.
Brady shared Hana's story and a first-hand account of the Holocaust
with our girls. This conversation was an amazing opportunity to learn
about history and the events in "Hana's Suitcase" from the
man who lived it as a boy. Dr. Catherine Phipps, Head of
International Studies at The University of Memphis, also met with our
cast members to explain what life is like as a middle-schooler in
Japan. She was able to answer all our girls' questions about schools,
everyday life, and time-honored traditions in Toyko.
"Cast
learned
what life is like as a middle-schooler in Japan."
ArtReach's A
Thousand Cranes - Hutchison School, Memphis TN
*
(theater) A black-clad person who enters the stage to rearrange the
set, unremarked by the actors.
FSHS
TIGER DRAMA CAMP PERFORMS THE
LEGEND OF MULAN
Fort
Scot Biz - Fort Scott News - Schools (KS)
This
year's annual Fort Scott High School Tiger Drama Camp performs The
Legend of Mulan on May 28 and 29.
Nearly
40 students in 1st through 9th grade have spent two weeks at camp
preparing for the production. Performances are at 7 p.m. on May 28
and 2 p.m. on May 29 at the Fort Scott High School Auditorium.
The
playwright, Kathryn Schultz Miller, describes the show this way,
"Mulan inspires us all with a grand desire to be the best we can
be: honest, tenacious and brave. She leads us on an epic journey over
mountains and rivers - through the hills and valleys of fear and
courage and human emotion. Mulan knows it doesn't matter if she is a
boy or a girl. She just wants to make her mark, prove her mettle, and
leave the world a better place."
"40
students have spent two weeks at camp preparing."
Fort
Scott High School Tiger Drama Camp rehearses ArtReach's 'The
Legend of Mulan'
The
character of Mulan is played by 8th grader Ashlyn Cannon. Other
notable characters include Captain Cheng, portrayed by freshman
Mykael Lewis; Pika the Rabbit played by 6th grader Abel Chaplin and
7th grader Chrislen Newman; Imoogi the Dragon played by 7th graders
Izzy Budd and Ana Rupprecht; and Momo, the Emperor's Assistant,
played by freshman Kaiden Clary.
The
camp and show are directed entirely by FSHS Thespians.
Senior
Christina King is the Director, assisted by sophomore Regen Wells
who also serves as Stage Manager and Choreographer Kinsley Davis, a junior.
Technical
staff include sophomore Lexi Hill - Lighting Designer, senior Khris
Patel - Sound Designer, senior Breena Cox - Music
Director,
sophomore Silvia Moreno - Props and Set Designer, and junior Izzy
Carreno - Music Operator. Many other Thespians serve as acting
coaches and leaders.
During
the 2-week camp, students learn about most technical theatre areas
such as lighting, sound, costuming, stagecraft, and make-up. They
also help to create the artistic set decor and learn sabre combat.
Tickets
for the show should be purchased in advance at
fortscotthighschool.ludus.com. Adults are $8 and children are
$6. There may be tickets available for purchase at the door, but
seating is limited. Masks and social distancing are required. Doors
open 30 minutes prior to showtime.
A
NOBLE PRODUCTION AT MHCC: Sword
in the Stone
The
Advocate: Mt. Hood Community College, Gresham OR
The
MHCC Theatre Department has begun to perform Kathryn Schultz
Miller's "Sword in
the Stone" this week, with busloads of elementary school
students from all around the Northwest coming to see the show.
We
were fortunate enough to sit in on one of the dress rehearsals to
get a glance at the play before the seats were packed full of
restless children, and found the production enjoyable.
The
script has been brought to life by the students of the Mt. Hood
Theatre program, and tailored by the director, Julie Akers, to
interact with audience members' imaginations. There are plenty of
parts where the characters break the fourth wall and beckon the
audience to help them in their quest, which takes them to the skies,
moats, and dragon-infested mountains of Arthurian England.
"Magic,
special effects & sword fighting."
MHCC
theatre students rehearse for “The
Sword in the Stone.” Landon Spady, The Advocate
All
of these elements would not be nearly as exciting if the actors did
not bring their individual talents to the characters of Arthurian
legend. All but three of actors are first-year students at Mount
Hood, and when asked, Akers expressed excitement at being able to
work with such young talent.
She
said there were some challenges in working with the script when it
was handed to her by the department's head, Mace Archer (who is
currently on sabbatical). The script calls for drastic and rapid
scene changes that transform the stage from a castle, to the sky, to
a field, and to many other difficult-to-depict locations. There are
also lots of magic, special effects, and sword fighting in the play,
which require a lot more rehearsal time for the actors and tech crew
to pin down, in order to put on a smooth performance.
Despite
all of these challenges, the cast and crew has risen to the
occasion. Akers said that she can't wait to return to direct the
upcoming spring production at MHCC, "The Miracle
Worker." The Theatre Department will open ArtReach's Sword
in the Stone Saturday, Nov. 16 to MHCC students and the general community.
Alice
in Wonderland is a Christmas Play?
Read The Story
of Alice in Christmas Land
"Curiouser
and curiouser!”
-- Lewis
Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
If you thought
Wonderland was curious, wait until you visit Christmas Land!
Alice in Wonderland is one of the world’s most famous and
beloved classics for children. Alice
in Christmas Land gives the familiar story a musical holiday twist.
The play begins
as Lewis Carroll calls for Alice who must be hiding. While he
looks the Storytellers begin the story describing merry old England
at Christmas time. When Alice finally presents herself Lewis
sees that there are not 1 but 6 Alices! He asks 5 of them to
sit down and wait their turn to play the part as the play progresses.
Lewis Carroll
is determined to take photographs of Alice with his fancy
camera. But Alice is reluctant because she would rather
decorate the Christmas tree. Mr. Carroll agrees and Alice
unpacks the ornaments. To her surprise each ornament represents
characters in the stories that Mr. Carroll has told her. She
discovers the Queen of Heart’s heart ornament and Mr. Carroll
tells her that this is the most important ornament of all because it
represents the spirit of love and kindness which is the center of
holiday spirit.
At
last Alice poses for a picture but as she does she becomes sleepy
and drifts into a dream. The next thing she knows, a White
Rabbit has entered and wakes her up. But this not the White
Rabbit she remembers from the story, this rabbit is dressed in a
Santa costume and carries a great sack on his back. However,
the White Rabbit seems to have no understanding of who Santa is and
what Christmas is all about. The Christmas White Rabbit
says "Mustn’t be late!” and disappears down his rabbit hole.
Alice follows
the rabbit and finds herself in a very unusual place. Little
does she know that she has fallen into Christmas Land where every
inhabitant has a very strange idea of Christmas. She finds a
bottle that says "drink me”. When she drinks from the
bottle she grows very small, as small as a cupcake. A
Caterpillar comes along and tells her that tasting the cupcake will
make her grow. One taste of the icing and Alice’s head is
in the clouds!
Along
come Tweedledum and Tweedledee, two little boys who are flying
through the air, lofted up by the propellers on their hats.
Alice asks them to take her flying and together they soar up so high
they see the Christmas star! Alice then asks them to help her
become the right size for a little girl again. They give her a
gingerbread man and tell her to eat part of it to grow down.
Next
Alice meets the grinning Cheshire Cat who is now a Christmas Cat
with green and red stripes. The Cat has the habit of
disappearing and reappearing during their conversation. The Cat
sings a version of "Deck the Halls” that seems crazy to
Alice. The Cat tells her, "We’re all mad here,”
and sends her along to the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
But
the Mad Hatter refuses to serve tea, claiming his party is really a
tree decorating party. But Alice doesn’t see any tree and
has an absurd exchange with the Hatter about his tree that isn’t
there. Dormouse sings a Christmas carol that is just as silly
as the Cat’s song. Alice declares, "No one here knows
anything about Christmas at all!”
The Mad Hatter
sends Alice along to the garden of the Queen of Hearts where Alice
finds decorators throwing away yesterday’s Christmas tree
ornaments and putting up new ones. Everyone seems terrified of
the Queen and indeed when the Queen appears everyone runs away.
The Queen asks
Alice to play croquet and Alice agrees. But this is not like
any croquet game Alice has played before. The mallets are
flamingos, the arches are people from the audience and the balls are
hedgehogs. After an attempt to play the game, Alice tells
the Queen that she cheats. This prompts the Queen to sing of
her own virtues and call for Alice’s head. Alice calmly
informs the Queen that there must be trial first.
At
the trial the Queen accuses Alice of sending a Christmas card,
claiming the fact establishes Alice’s guilt. At last,
Alice pulls the heart ornament that Mr. Carroll has given her and
presents it to the Queen. Alice tells the Queen that she should
represent love and kindness, symbolized by the heart, because
that’s what Christmas is all about. If she did, Alice
tells her, "All of your subjects would understand Christmas a
great deal more than they do now!”
The Queen is
outraged and cries "Off with her head!” All the
Alices appear together and demand that they should like to see the
Queen’s head off. All Alices ask for the
audience’s help and together they drive the Queen away.
Soon Alice is
sleeping as before and awakens to hear Mr. Carroll and everyone
singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” As Alice
tells Mr. Carroll about her dream, each of the characters appears
before her. The Queen appears, demanding her heart. Alice
says "With this, you can be the very best Queen there ever
was.” When the Queen wishes everyone a Merry Christmas,
the crowd shouts, "All hail the Queen of Hearts!”
Mr. Carroll
tells Alice to keep each Christmas in her heart for all are precious,
prompting everyone to join in singing, "We Wish You a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year!”
"If
I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense.”
-- Lewis
Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Interview
Questions for Kathryn Schultz Miller
Prepared by
Morgan Cobb, Florida
State University
-What
drew you to playwriting?
I had a terrific teacher in
High School who believed in me. He gave me confidence to write
and act. He steered me towards some small publications and a
creative writing scholarship to college. That got me going.
-Which
of your plays are you most proud of?
A Thousand Cranes will
probably always be up there as my most favored script. But I am
also just as proud of Welcome Home about a Vietnam Vet. I'm
also very proud of many of my short comic plays such as Emperor's New
Clothes, Sword in the Stone, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Among the large cast plays for kids to perform, I like The Jungle
Book and Velveteen Rabbit.
-I
noticed several of your plays have actors playing multiple
characters was that intentional? If so why?
The first plays I wrote were
for touring to schools, so we had to have a small cast of very
talented adults with few actors and few props for traveling in a
van. Although that was a necessity I came to see it as an
artistic benefit. Many restrictions caused me to up the
artistic stakes, putting imagination above physical stuff like sets
and props. Minimalism became our style.
