Taylor High School Theatre Troupe Performs Alice in Wonderland This Month

The Taylor PlayMakers will present Alice in Wonderland by Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus. This playful adaptation of Lewis Carroll?s iconic childhood stories, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, will be performed at James E. Taylor High School's Performing Arts Center on October 13th and 14th at 7:00pm and October 15th at 2:00pm and 7:00pm.

Alice is directed by Julie Williams, Taylor?s resident Theatre Director, as well as school graduate. The title role of Alice is played by Caitlyn Manfre, a senior, who plans to attend Texas A&M next fall and study theater. Caitlyn hopes to eventually get her teaching certificate and work with children in theater arts.

"I think Alice is a fun little girl who has a big imagination and enjoys using it," says Caitlyn of her coveted role. "I think it?s really fun to just be able to run around on stage and tap into my childhood." Manfre is also the current president of Taylor PlayMakers? Thespian Society. She has worked closely with the other officers, the troupe members and Ms. Williams, helping keep order in running the troupe for the year. In addition to playing Alice, Caitlyn designed the costumes for the show.

Manfre is accompanied by a stellar cast of fellow PlayMakers in this ambitious production based on the authentic look and feel of the original published book. The production team decided to take a special approach in terms of designing the set and costumes for the show.

"If one was to go back to the original Lewis Carroll novel, they would find beautiful illustrations by Sir John Tenniel," explains junior Shelby Connolly, the show?s Stage Manager. "These drawings were in black and white on a cream background, with a sketched style to them. To stick with the classics, we had our sets and costumes emulate this style." The set appears 2 dimensional and the costumes are essentially monochromatic. The purpose of this concept was to suggest to the audience that when Alice leaps through the „looking glass?, she has essentially jumped into Lewis Carroll's book, making her infamous blue dress the only pop of color and life in the fictional world. With such a minimalistic technical design, the actors over-emphasize the dramatics to make the characters pop out of the „book?. It actually creates a very theatrical impression.

This production greatly differs from the well known Disney's Alice in Wonderland, but audiences are certain to embrace the artful differences here. The Disney version, a musical, is kaleidoscopically colorful and serves the audience so much flamboyancy and magic; it has little room for personal imagination. Taylor?s version provides a stunning and stoic canvas for the audience to paint themselves, inviting mass interpretation, just like ... reading a book. In addition, the script itself is a more intellectual piece than the Disney version, with its slew of poetry and sophisticated humor.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at www.taylorplaymakers.com or in the THS Commons beginning October 11th. Ticket prices are $10 Adults, $8 Students, $6 Children 12 & Under and Senior Citizens. Advance Sale Tickets are $8 Adults, $6 Students, $5 Children 12 & Under and Senior Citizens.

 

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