Independence Theatre and Performing Arts students participated in the production, “Little Women,” performing on Jan. 31, 1, 7, and 8.
Kelly Dolan, 10 who played Marmee and Sam Scott, 10 who played Meg March in Little Women both exchanged meaningful dialogue in their scene together.
“Little Women,” written by Louisa May Alcott, is the well-known story of the four March sisters (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy). The musical follows their journey of ups and downs until they find their place in the world.
Freshman Kailey Smith plays the role of the young Amy March, an artist with a love for visual beauty and a weakness for materialistic possessions. She is often given to pouting but eventually aims to improve upon herself. “I love getting to learn more about the story and see new sides of the characters’ personalities while performing alongside amazing people in our school,” said Smith. According to Smith, “Little Women ” was a family-friendly performance with lots of powerful scenes that had the ability to affect almost everyone in an unexpected way.
Students who participated in the play spent endless hours with the hopes of putting on an amazing performance. Rehearsals took place not only in class but during lunches and outside school hours.
As a new school, Independence has a fairly new theatre program, but that hasn’t stopped them from using their limited resources to put on full productions. Due to the lack of male casting members, sophomore Max Layman took on the on the ambitious task of having two roles. He claims to have developed his love for theatre after a dare which caused him to have the lead role in 7th grade.
Max Layman, 10 played Professor Bhaer and Jo March played by Katie Phillips, 10 shared an emotional scene as the leads of Little Women.
“The production is amazing for a new school and a lot better than I expected it to turn out. We have been able to stay organized, and I would say this is one of my favorite shows to be a part of,” said freshman Hailey Suh, Troll and Ensemble in “Little Women”.
However, the hard work does not only come from those the audience sees on stage but also from those who work behind the scenes. Sophomore Charlotte Waxvik—the co-assistant stage manager for “Little Women” and secretary of the International Thespian Society— said that“Mr. [David] Noland is a great theatre teacher who inspires all of us, and makes us want to be there. We have a great family environment and Mr. Noland cares about each of us growing as actors.”