The Rivers Middle School Players Present: Alice in Wonderland, May 18-20

 

Under the direction of Diane DeVore and Assistant Director Julia Auster, this production blends both of Lewis Carroll’s classic stories about Alice – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland  and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There – to create a two-act show that provides students with a litany of characters to inhabit as Alice, played by Tatiana Sanchez ’23, navigates her way through trials, tea parties, and a chessboard en route to becoming a queen.

 

The Middle School Players began working on this production with auditions back in January, before beginning rehearsals in earnest just before March break. All the while, Ms. DeVore and Ms. Auster called upon the expertise of Costume Designer Judy Weiner, Technical Director Ian O’Malley, Prop and Set Designer Susie McGee, and Middle School art teacher Chris Love to recreate Wonderland and Looking-Glass Land in Rivers’ Black Box.

 

“This group of us – myself, Judy, Susie – have been doing this together for 14 years now, and it is such an amazing group to work with,” Ms. DeVore said. “Having Chris [Love] in to do the painting of the set and watching all of those production pieces come together for the students has certainly been a highlight.”

 

On Wednesday, the Middle School Players put on two community performances during the school day for their fellow Middle School students and any faculty who cannot make the evening shows. Between the morning and afternoon show, Ms. DeVore noticed that the cast had pushed several tables together in the lunch room so that they could eat together, underscoring how close the cast has gotten over the last few months.

 

“The connections they are making, behind the scenes at lunches and dinners and at rehearsals, are the gratifying things for me to see” Ms. DeVore said. “Watching their confidence grow, watching them start to figure things out, taking initiative to help each other out and pick each other up when things don’t go perfectly – they have really taken ownership of this production.”

 

The Middle School Players (listed in order of appearance)

Tatiana Sanchez ’23, Eli Wasserman ’21, Hannah Long ’21, Anna Monaghan ’22, Schuyler Bartlett ’21, Adebiyi Oyaronbi ’21, Lila Parker ’23, Crystie Frometa ’23, Shay Pipe ’22, Nick Ruddy ’23, Maddie Foley ’22, Rinny Leeming ’23, Cole Zaleski ’21, Lucy Tonthat ’22, Maggie Leeming ’21, Cecily Bua ’21, Hunter Tuff ’23, Colin Falvey ’23, Shamila Santana ’21, Natalia Ramos ’22, and Emma Braudis ’22.

 

Set Crew

Oliver Carswell ’22, Ms. Cathy Favreau, Lila Parker ’23, Finn McCusker ’22, Anna Monaghan ’22, Walt Regan-Loomis ’22, and Sarah Stein ’23.