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Elementary school production set to go this weekend |
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Wednesday, 23 April 2008 |
Young St. Patrick's school performers will likely entertain the audience wholeheartedly as they perform Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory this weekend for the community.
By Sharon Ulrich
Taber Times
Grade 4 and Grade 5 students have been practising several hours a week since the new year and Caryn Swark remarks that together, they have been a very responsible, hard-working cast, and have memorized their lines very quickly.
"There's just been a really strong level of dedication and you could tell at the first rehearsal that these kids had showed up to put on a play and they were going to do it. They weren't there to goof around or chat with their friends, they were there to rehearse, so that's been really great," says Swark, indicating the audience should be very impressed by the quality of performances of the young students.
"There's just some really talented kids here and I think for an elementary school, it's a very high-calibre performance."
Two motion pictures were adapted from the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory published back in 1964. As Swark explains, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is based on the story of a young boy who discovers a ticket that gets him a tour of a magic chocolate factory, and it's the story of what happens during that tour and the rather unpleasant children he tours with."
Where Johnny Depp certainly brought out Willy Wonka's peculiarities as the most unusual candy maker in 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Swark says the young girl in the role has made the character her own.
"I think while Willy Wonka is very good at bringing out the eccentricities of the character, it's a very different performance. She clearly didn't base it on either of the movies which is good, I think, because it's her interpretation. It still comes across - she plays him very playfully and just a little bit off base, a little bit out of sync with everyone else."
In addition to the small group of students who have shown their own dedication painting backgrounds and building props, Swark says the cast have worked well together .
"I think the kids we've put in the main roles this year have really risen to the challenge and they've really played off of each other well and they've been very good about rising to meet each other's levels."
For the fourth year, Swark and Tera Robison have taken the lead for plays with the St. Pat's kids. And while they've been very proud of the previous productions, Swark says this is definitely the most confident she has felt going into performance week.
"It's just been a really good run of performances and I'm looking forward to performing with this group of kids. I would really encourage people to come out and see this. It's really wonderful what these young children are able to do and I think it's wonderful for them when the community comes out and supports them. It's very exciting."
Performances will start at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday evenings respectively at St. Mary's school.
A dessert theatre goes on Friday with a few tickets left at a cost of $7. Tickets for Saturday's regular performance are $3 and are available at St. Patrick's school. |
