playbill vip

MRS. DORIS GOBLE, director

I've had a great love affair with Peter Pan since I was a young girl. Perhaps it's because of my great love for belly laughter, roller coasters, and adventures to new places. More than this, though, I'm intrigued by one simple question: When you grow up, is it possible to maintain those things that make you young, interesting, and vibrant?

This is the debate of Peter and the Starcatcher.  Should Molly and Peter choose the adult world?  Or should they stay and play pirates forever? Neither world is perfectly safe.  After all, there are pirates everywhere.

We've approached this particular production as if we're playing pirates in our own backyard.  During rehearsals, we have played like young children and laughed with our entire hearts. We've taken the cares and worries of 2019 and set them down. We've picked up strange props and funny hats and played like children.

The show has been particularly emotional for us as a cast. We've laughed, of course, but we've also cried together.  In October, many of these students went with me to the funeral of one of our assistant directors, Ruth King. The loss of her bright energy and laughter has perhaps made this show even more important. We've been reminded that life is precious, that fun is to be seized wherever possible, and that teamwork and camaraderie are incredibly important throughout the journey.

I'm proud of what this cast has accomplished.  As an ensemble cast, they have learned to work together and depend upon one another.  This show - and much of theater itself - is always about community. We spend weeks together as a group, and we develop friendships and memories that will last beyond Neverland. We hope that you will love this show as we have. We hope this show will remind you of Great Adventures of the imagination and the never-ending backyard. We hope that you will laugh out loud. We hope that you will remember what it is to be very young.  We hope that you will face pirates without fear.

Welcome to Neverland!

DR. CARIE KING, assistant director

When picking a script, the focus is often on the words—the characters, the plot, and the setting with all its possibilities. Once the production work begins, the focus can often shift from words to the people, their placement, and all that is added. However, there is a point in production when the lines are memorized and blocking is complete that the words become the focus once again.  

I woke up yesterday morning with little voice, not from illness but from laughing. Mrs. Goble and I sat and guffawed our way through rehearsal as students began to hear and understand the full context of Peter and the Starcatcher. Words that once were simply flat, came to life and took flight! 

This is a play. A play about play that emphasizes the play of words. That’s a whole lot of play! We ask you to sit back, and enjoy the banter, alliteration, allusions, silly fart jokes, and pasta exclamations! Guffaw with us: LASAGNA!