Fantasy adventure comes to Cedarcrest

The Cedarcrest Middle School drama club presented some fantasy adventure and comedy with their newest production of the Witch’s Princess.

Students with the drama club presented the play April 21, 22 and 23.

“It is the story of a princess who does not want to marry the knight that wins her father’s contest, so she decides she is going to go slay the castle’s bog witch by herself and she teams up with a crew of famous monsters from literature,” said director Darren Oke.

Oke said he read the play a couple of months ago and was excited to bring the story to Cedarcrest Middle School.

“This is a brand new play from Don Zolidis and it is a comedy adventure,” said Oke. “This is the first time its been performed in this region and we had a lot of fun putting it together."

This is the second play that the school has done since the beginning of the pandemic, the first of which was the Trial of the Big Bad Wolf in the fall.

“The kids are excited because they finally have a new project that they have been able to sink their teeth into as a big project,” said Oke.

The fantasy production brought a lot of new takes on fantasy archetypes.

“They’ve gotten to play some very unusual roles that are a lot of fun and there’s a lot of comedy in it and lot of adventure in it,” said Oke.

Student Kate Kolasinski plays Princess Alessandra, a bossy and demanding royal.

“I really like screaming at people without the consequences because I don’t actually mean it,” she said.

Student and president of the drama club Maisie Pagle plays Grendel’s Mother, a character originally from the medieval English epic Beowulf.

The play’s version of the character takes an understated approach to the motherly aspects of the character.

“Everyone expects me to be this big mother and I’m just like ‘hi,’” said Pagle.

The plays' first night had a bit of a rough start, said Kolasinski, but was “smooth sailing” once they got everything going.

She said she enjoyed helping to create a fantasy world and making the audience laugh.

“It’s so funny and it’s one of those plays where you can have a five-year-old watching it and they’ll be glued to it the entire time,” she said.

Pagle said she enjoyed working with other people in the drama club to help build the production.

“I like doing this with a bunch of people and having all these fun experiences with the drama program,” she said.

The new production is one of the largest the school has done since beginning their drama program.

“This is the biggest play that we have done that is not a musical,” said Oke.

“It’s the longest and it’s the most complicated with the most scenery and props and special effects,” he said.

The new show also was the debut for their brand new lighting system that the club has been able to invest in.

Oke thanked the students and families for their support for the production.

“I have the hardest working kids and parents you’ll find anywhere and I’m really proud to have them here at Cedarcrest,” he said.