The cast of "Great Expectations" rehearses a scene onstage in Prior Lake High School''s auditorium. The actors had to acquaint themselves with the period-specific dialogue, which is adapted from Charles Dickens'' 19th century novel.
High school cast and crew bring 'Great Expectations' to life
The newest production from Prior Lake High School's theater department could easily double as extra credit for English class. In a departure from past spring shows like "Sabrina Fair" and "Guys and Dolls," director Jennifer Witt decided to go with a literary classic for this year's warm-weather performance.
"When I choose shows, I obviously look at the entertainment value for the audience," Witt says. "There also needs to be an educational component to what we do."
With those directives in mind, Witt opted to stage an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 19th century classic "Great Expectations." The production debuts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19 in the auditorium at Prior Lake High School, 7575 150th St., Savage, and is set to close with a performance at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 22. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students.
Witt's background contains plenty of Dickens; as an elementary-school student she starred as Eleanor Scrooge in a gender-flipped theatrical version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," she performed in "Oliver!," a production based on the author's novel "Oliver Twist" - which "sparked [Witt's] interested in theater," she says - and she read "Great Expectations" as a ninth-grader. As she simply puts it, "I like Dickens."
"Great Expectations" follows an orphan named Pip as he begins spending time at the estate of Miss Havisham. There, Pip meets and falls in love with the young Estella. The story wrestles with issues of gender, class and family as Pip and Estella reconnect when they are adults.
The novel's diction is heavy and a lot happens in the book. Thus, Witt knew one challenge of staging "Great Expectations" would be finding a script that encapsulates the story's events within a two-hour show. After reading two adaptations, Witt opted to use Robert Johanson's version.
"I feel like this script really was adapted well for a high school production," she says. "I felt this was a nicely condensed version of a longer story."
In addition, the dialogue is period-specific - meaning the language sounds very different from the vernacular Witt's actors use in their everyday lives. Many of them went out and read the book, Witt said, and also researched their parts. In fact, one student even brought in a map that linked all of the characters together and explained their roles. When actors came across words they didn't understand, they took the initiative to look them up instead of simply waiting for Witt to define the terms.
"They've been fantastic ... I really feel like the kids went above and beyond," Witt says. "I do really feel like the students embraced it."
In fact, the only real obstacle Witt faced was re-creating some of the script's more fantastical scenes onstage. Without giving too much away, technical director and auditorium supervisor Dave Tuma boiled it down to three key challenges: "boats, burning and a dropping curtain."
"Oh man, this is going to be difficult," Tuma recalls his reaction to reading the script. "There were a few things where I was scratching my head and saying, 'OK, how are we going to do this?'"
Witt says she's had fun experimenting with a more special-effects heavy production.
"It has been a challenge but Dave is so creative and so great," she says.
The staging for "Great Expectations" is unique, with the stage essentially divided into four parts, each with its own set. Depending on the setting and characters, different sections of the stage are then utilized. The production even spills into the first row of the audience at one point.
"They're going to see things that have never been done before in a Prior Lake High School theater show, at least since I've been here," Tuma says.
Witt agrees.
"I do think audiences will take away an appreciation for a different theatrical experience than they've had before."