By Liz Spencer
Everyone knows the classic tale of C.S Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The Advanced Theater Studies students brought the story to life on stage on April 28 and 29. I talked to Jack Colaianni, Nick Allan, Carly Usherwood, and Cody Grimm about writing and performing C.S Lewis’s classic tale.
Jack Colaianni- Mr. Tumnus/Director
How was this different from your last play?
I have never written a show before with a class. That was interesting. I never directed before; personally it was a big step up.
How close is this to the book?
Relatively close. We read the book in class, but when we started to write the script, originally it was going to be the whole book. We made the decision as a class to change it based on what we liked, so we changed. It’s close, but it’s definitely an adaptation.
Well I played Mr. Tumnus the fawn who was this goofy guy that is half goat and half man. He is a traitor, a kidnapper for the white witch. Then I play a second character named Mongrum, captain of the secret police, and he was a wolf.
What are some memorable moments that happened behind the scenes?
We had a door in the beginning. It was the only thing that wasn’t carpeted, so we had to lift it. We had to have four people carry it, and that was very chaotic. We had 17 seconds of moving time.
Why were you guys putting on The LWW?
Last year, in a class called Drama 2, we had a project for which we had to write a scene from a book into a musical. Someone in my group chose the Chronicles of Narnia. We all wrote it together, and we wrote more songs into it. But they were okay for the project. We liked it so much we asked our teacher, Mrs. McKenzie, if we could do it as a ATS show. This whole year that’s what we did.
Nick Allan- Edmund
How was this different from your last play?
Well my last play was a musical. For one, there was no singing and dancing. Two, we were doing all the crew stuff, so we had to move all the sets and the props. That was really different. I am used to acting in the shows and having a student director because sometimes he was less strict than other directors.
Can you talk about your character?
Edmund, he is one of the kids. He didn’t really get along with the other kids in the show because he was kind of a jerk. I blame that on being separated from his parents, and that was how he was coping with it.
What are some memorable moments that happened behind the scenes?
Well, There was a fun scene where Jack Colaianni was talking to Sam Keville, and every single time he would do some crazy gesture. His girlfriend and I would laugh at him every single time so that was always fun. Also, sword fighting was fun. Very memorable.
Carly Usherwood-Susan
How is this role different from your last play?
I am not a princess. I don’t wear the big dress. I play a 14 year old with siblings. I have a younger brother, a younger sister and an older brother.
How close is this to the book?
Pretty close. We took out some parts and small characters because the cast is 11 people and some people have 2 roles. We also have to move the sets and the lights.
Can you talk about your character?
Susan Pevensie is a 14-year-old girl with 3 siblings. She is the second oldest and motherly to her younger sister. She cares about her sister. She’s very logical and the smart one in the group. She is also tough and strong.
Cody Grimm- The Professor/ Father Christmas
How was this different from your last show?
The last play that I was in before this was a very small part in Cinderella. I was one of the townspeople, but this part was more important. I loved it a lot. It was very interesting playing an older figure which I have been told I do well as like a leading figure.
Can you talk about your characters?
Father Christmas and the Professor are both played by me because they are supposed to be the same person because they are both father figures to give people hope. I came in, and I announced Christmas was back because I finally escaped from the White Witch. I give them their weapons to fight the White Witch.
What were memorable moments that happened behind the scenes?
Oh Gosh. There are always funny things going on behind stage. A lot of times when we’re backstage, we would just be sitting there, and sometimes we’ll just mouth and pantamime like ridiculous ways that the people on stage are doing their scenes and just say their lines in a really funny voice or something. In one of the scenes Lucy is telling Edmund about how the fawn told her about the White Witch and how she is so bad. And then Edmund just says, “Everyone knows fawns can’t be trusted.” And I always turned to my friend Kenny and go, ‘DUH! Obviously everyone knows that!”