Colorado College’s Theatre Workshop will be presenting an adapted version of Andre Gregory’s Alice in Wonderland, directed by CC senior Kendall Bentsen.
Bentsen’s idea of producing this play came after a day looking for “Alice in Wonderland” stories and eventually finding Andre Gregory’s play. Bentsen said that she tried to stick to the script for the most part, but had to cut some lines due to time limitations.
The play is written in vignette form, which makes it very different from the version people have seen in “Alice in Wonderland” movie adaptations. The set of the play is limited to a painted white floor, tables, chairs, lights, and sound effects. The seven student actors are part of the set; therefore, every cast member plays at least seven different roles in the play, ranging from playing part of a mushroom to the White Queen to Alice.
James Dineen, first-year, plays the Mad Hatter, the front of a house, and a few other roles. Dineen explains the challenge of playing several characters: “There are different traits that you have to bring with each character… Every new character you play has to have a different feeling to it.”
Due to the familiarity to the story of “Alice in Wonderland,” the cast members have to make sure they are prepared to achieve people’s expectancies, especially because of the unconventional style of performance. In order to achieve this, rehearsal times were rigorous in terms of hours. For almost two blocks, the cast members and crew members rehearsed three to four hours every day, some of them rehearsing up to twenty hours in a week.
Bentsen acknowledged that coordinating everyone’s schedule was the biggest challenge for her and some of the cast and crewmembers. Some cast members confessed that they made some sacrifices and changes to their academics and social life to increase their efforts in the play.
“Everyone should come watch Alice in Wonderland because it is a chance to take a break and not take yourself too seriously and go back to being a child,” said Bentsen. “It’s totally worth it, and you won’t regret it when you’re laughing your ass off.”
Box:
– opened last night, Thursday, Nov. 14,
– Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:30
– Sat., Nov 16 at 3:00pm 7:30 pm.
– Taylor Theatre just east of Bemis Hall
– Tickets available at the Worner Desk
– Free for students
Karen Rojas-Palacios, Guest Writer