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Theater students at Warsaw Community High School received a top honor Jan. 12.
At the Northern Regional Thespian Conference at Merrillville High School, the students performed a 30-minute section of their fall musical, "Into The Woods." Their performance was judged and ranked to see where they would fit at state competition. At the two regionals held, a total of 19 high school groups performed.
Of those 19, not only did the WCHS students receive a state position, they also received an "all-conference event" position. Only three schools in Indiana are chosen to perform in one of these slots. WCHS' "Into the Woods" ranked second overall at regionals, missing first by only about two points. First place was taken by Evansville Central, according to theater teacher Dana McAfee.
On March 7, at 8 p.m., at Indiana Wesleyan, Marian, the WCHS cast will perform not just a 30-minute section of the musical, but the entire production. It will be the main attraction of the evening.
"It's a really big honor for the kids to be chosen to do that," McAfee said. She said they are very excited about performing the whole play at the state level.
There is an effort to get a "fan bus" to take interested people to the event, she said, so all those interested in seeing the Warsaw students perform can do so.
On March 9, following the weekend performances, the conference will hold an awards ceremony. WCHS will receive a plaque for being all-conference. One to two students may be chosen to be members of the all-state cast to represent WCHS. At regionals, WCHS student Annie Koser was chosen to the "all-star cast" to represent the whole play.
While WCHS has participated in the conference before, McAfee said this is the first year the school has vied for a full-length spot while she has taught at WCHS.
She said, "It's a huge weekend, it's a busy weekend." There will be workshops, plays to watch, a banquet, dance and individual competitions for theater students during the weekend.
Approximately 25-30 students are involved in the cast and crew of "Into the Woods," but McAfee said 30 to 40 students involved in some aspect of theater at the high school will go see the competition.
She said, "Some of them are rehearsing for our new play while rehearsing for 'Into the Woods,' but they love it."
The cast of WCHS' "Into the Woods" include: Hanna Dillon as narrator; Sera Hawkins as Cinderella; Liz Behny as the stepmother; Katye Tom as Florinda; Bethany Kinney as Lucinda; Thomas Hall as the baker; Karyn Brumbaugh as the baker's wife; Jeff Gainey as Jack; Katrina Bonahoom as Jack's mother; Annie Koser as the witch; Heather Bonahoom as Little Red Riding Hood; Russ T. Hammer as Cinderella's father; Adam Hawkins as the wolf; Christi Mann as Granny; Charles Robison as the mysterious man; Abbie Wilson as Cinderella's mother; Emily Behny as Rapunzel; Ryan Francis as Cinderella's prince; Skyler Scott as Rapunzel's prince; and Zeke Wilson as the steward.
Music for the play was written by Stephen Sondheim with James Lapine behind the story. The musical depicts what happened to many beloved fairy tale characters after the "happily ever after."
