An unlikely hero will save the day when things fall apart in Fairy Tale Land at Okotoks Junior High School when it hosts its annual musical later this month.
Fairytales and the real world will collide when the school’s Junior Main Stage Program production of Mirror Image: A Real Enchanted Musical hits the stage from March 30 to April 1.
Director Stacey Burrows said the program is designed to complement the Main Stage program at the Alberta High School of Fine Arts. It teaches the students what to expect if they go into the Main Stage program or pursue drama and acting later in life.
“This is a great training ground for when they get into Grade 10,” she said.
Burrows formed the program when she started teaching at the school almost a decade ago and it has blossomed over the years.
“Every year, we’ve grown more adept at learning our program and figuring out how to stage our rehearsals,” she said.
The play starts in Fairy Tale Land, where Cinderella’s two evil stepsisters find a doorway to another world and end up as students at a high school. The Woodsman follows them in the hopes of rescuing them, but the sisters have no intention of going back.
The Woodsman recruits a student, Danica, to help him defeat the evil sisters.
Meanwhile, things start to break down in Fairy Tale Land without the Woodsman. Sleeping Beauty injures herself when she is forced to cut her own wood, Hansel and Gretel remain lost in the forest, the Prince two-times Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood is attacked by the wolf.
Jacob Moore, who plays the Woodsman, said the character hopes to rise from the background to change his destiny and become the hero.
“He wants to be something he’s not and he’s fighting for it,” he said.
However, the Woodsman has a hard time convincing real-world high school student Danica, played by Jordan Kunz, a fantasy world exists.
However, Kunz said the character wants to do what is right and is running for class president.
“She’s very passionate about saving the world,” she said.
The 42-student cast was selected in December and rehearsals began in January. It takes more than 120 hours of rehearsals before and after school to get the program ready for opening night.
Several students also play a leading role behind the scenes with a technical team in charge of the lighting for the production. Students with dance backgrounds have choreographed scenes and helped some of their classmates with two left feet get the steps right.
The cast of students has learned a lot more than their lines; it has also made them more confident and able to think quickly on their feet.
“I found out different ways I could express my talents,” said Aimee Marquardt.
It’s also the first time in a major production for several of the play’s cast members.
Grade 7 student Megan Croteau said there’s nothing like the Junior Main Stage program in elementary school, so there’s a lot to learn in a short period of time.
“It’s hard and it’s learning, but it’s fun,” she said.
Opening night for the production is on March 30 at 7 p.m. the production will continue on March 31 at 7 p.m. and a matinee will be held on April 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the school office for $5 for students, $10 for adults and $25 for a family of four.
