Mahpiya Luta High School students are producing a play on stage for the first time in almost 15 years. After many years without a theater program, our high school students have been working for two months to prepare “Alice in Wonderland.” The show will open on the stage of the Little Gym on Friday April 26th at 6pm and also run April 27th at 4pm.
The show has been a great opportunity for our students to showcase their humor, expression, and practice their confidence in front of an audience. It is just one more example of the multifaceted talents of the students at Mahpiya Luta. The cast and crew includes 19 students from all four high school grades.
Junior Caden Pourier who plays the Mad Hatter said, “The play helped me gain confidence in talking in front of other people. I have really enjoyed working together with others to tell a story. Individual parts are fun, but I thought it was really cool when everyone’s parts of the play contributed to a cohesive story.”
“The play has brought together all sorts of students to put to use their natural talent for expression, interpretation, and creativity,” says co-director Billy Critchley-Menor, SJ. “We have students in the play who are all star athletes, students who may struggle in the classroom, but excel in storytelling on the stage, and students who have straight As. It’s been exciting to offer a new avenue for all kinds of MLO students to work together and share their creativity in such a public way for the community.”
For many years, Red Cloud had a thriving theater program. Often, the school would compete in the South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) One Act play competition and make it to state. The cast and crew of Alice in Wonderland have revived the Little Gym stage with hopes to make this a regular school program again.
“I would have never interacted with some of my castmates if it were not for the play,” said Senior Kennedy Fridia who plays the Red Queen. “The play has given so many students opportunities to express themselves in a way they never would have imagined. I’m so excited to perform it for all that will come. In the future I hope this can become a much bigger program and even expand down into the middle and elementary schools.”