The Drama Club’s play this year was “Never After Happily,” a whimsical and hilarious story that follows Ella, a young writer who has grown out of her childhood, exploring what happens to our favorite childhood characters after the happily ever after, much to the annoyance of fairy tale character and happily ever after enthusiast Cinderella. The play is a metacommentary look into fairytales and their opposition to the harsh reality of life many people face after growing up.
Students were able to see it on Friday, Nov. 15, and Saturday, Nov. 16. The play covered children’s stories ranging from Rapunzel to Chicken-Little. Before the play even began, the actors would roam around the audience in character and interact with the audience, like the talent agent for Jack Horner, a boy who stuck his thumb in a pie, asking to see audience members’ thumbs, or the cops who chase Beanstalk Jack, asking audience members if they have seen him. During the play, the audience was told what story was being covered by Card Girl, a girl who would show a card from above the stage; her cards said, “applause” and “boo” alongside the story which avoided using the actual name of the story but instead saying “the one with…” There was also the herald who would tell the audience what the story they were going to explore was about.
When asked what it was like to play their characters and what went into their preparation, Ella Ballard commented: “To play Ella felt very natural. I feel like me and her are already similar in personality. To fully embody her, I had to act with a lot of attitude and snark, I had to make sure that my lines and mannerisms sounded like her and not me and that took a lot of practice.”
While Jaslin Shand commented: “Prepping for Cindy was hard to say the least, especially since we had less time to prepare than we usually do. Being Cindy was such a magical experience being able to bring so many kids’ fairy tale favorites to life! But I don’t think I could have done it without the support of my ‘other half’ Ella. Both Ella and Cindy are supposed to represent Cinderella as a whole, both characters portraying the different sides of Cinderella, her more pessimistic side being Ella and her optimistic side being Cindy. Overall this was a wonderful role and a wonderful show and I’m so glad I got this experience.”
The cast was composed of: Ella Ballard as Ella, Jaslin Shand as Cindy/Cinderella, Elijah Nelson as Doc/Godfather, Julie Grimes as Rapunzel, Khamani Dyson as the Proprietor/Witch, Savannah Miller as Chicken Little/Young Cindy, Sabra Fisher as Prunella, Makayla Flournoy-Brown as Beanstalk Jack/Spoon, Emily Frank as Little Red, Destiny Fink as Brittany, Aubrey Hill as Stepmom, Tierra Anderson as Marina, Janae James as Ariel, Chloe Dunlap as Goldilocks, Emma Schwartz as Aurora, Payton McNaughton as Judge, Kira Emmil as Snow White, Astel Miller as Herald, Ashley Dunlap as Plate/Clarabella, Karlee McNaughton as Card Girl, Layla Carpenter as Cop, Emily Blass as Cop, Gianna Murphy as Ice Pick/Lawyer, Xavier Johnston as Wolf/Prosecutor, Albert Campbell as Prince Charming/Defense, Blake Christensen as Young Charming/Philip/Goon, Alex Vail as Jack Horner/Priest/Goon, Arlo Vargeson as Emperor, Victor McAndres as Orderly/Goon, and Laila Hunter as Hank.
The production staff was composed of: Director: Marie Fox, Technical Director/Light Board Operator: Dylan Gabrick, Costume Designer: Missy Blas, Assistant Costumer: Lina Loehr, Stage Manager/Program Design: Brianna Heltman, Assistant Stage Manager: Madison Hanes, Backstage Crew: Amilah Amos/Alondra Natal/Logan Snauffer/Jack Daughtery/Jayden Parker, Set Construction: NAH Cast, Sound Board Operator/Merch Table: Jocie Pleasant, Sound Effects Operator: Brandon Walter, Box Office: Brianna Heltman/Madison Hanes/Cooper Gutberlet/Brynn Robinson, Poster Design: Janae Jones, Program Cover Design: Elijah Nilson, and All Printing: Tim Miller/Graphic Design Class.
