Cinderella is a classic fairy tale, telling the story of a hardworking girl who is mistreated by her evil stepmother but ends up meeting and marrying a prince.
Recently, North Harford’s Drama 2 class performed a variation of the story, called Cinderella, Cinderella, by Steve and Kathy Hotchner. In this version of the play, the actors invited members of the audience to join and interact with them.
The class formed two different casts, each headed by a student that was nominated from among their peers. They were juniors Becky Jump and Taylor Mc Murray.
“As director, I hoped for everyone to have fun and bond in a way that the class has not bonded yet,” stated McMurray.
The casts split up performances for North Harford Elementary, Little Hawks preschool, Fawn Grove Elementary and Kidville Junction Daycare.
“In the beginning I was very laid back, and kept thinking ‘these are all my friends,’ ” stated Jump. “As it progressed, I decided I need to be stricter to have a more successful show for the kids.”
Jump’s first show was on Saturday May 3rd at the Black Box. Several of the performers in the show began by sitting out in the audience and went on stage as Cinderella, sophomore Scarlet Dare, asked for help to clean her house.
“The play went really well actually, it was better than our schools,” stated Melissa Clark, a freshman at Fallston High School, which had a Cinderella Musical earlier this year.
Throughout the show, kids were invited on to the stage either to help Cinderella or the Fairy Godmother, senior Delanie Blomquist. At the ball, members of the audience were invited to be guests and dance with some of the actors.
“Having the kids get involved was so nice,” stated Anabala Davids, one of the audience members of the play. “To get to be that involved I think was very nice.”
Actors also ran out and underneath the audience at one point, as Cinderella was chased by her stepmother, Gia Tserkis, and stepsisters, Cecily played by Katie Grafton and Denise played by Maddie Rupprecht.
After the play, students again let spectators come on the stage to complete the “Bippity Boppity Boo” workshop, an exercise they created. The Fairy Godmother, Blomquist, would have the kids pretend to be an animal or pretend to walk through an imaginary terrain. The actors then explained how the exercise helped them get in character and prepare for the show.
“The students did all the tech, costuming and created their own workshop, all the props,” stated Drama teacher Ms. Nancy Green. “ All I do is provide a room and opportunity.”