Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
STUDENTS BELA Diewald and Marissa Ritter took part in the week's theatrical production of "Alladin and the Magic Lamp" running the light and sound for the play Saturday night at Historic Ironwood Theatre.
By STEVE NEWMAN
Ironwood - Historic Ironwood Theatre was a hive of activity Saturday with two performances of the children's play "Alladin and His Magic Lamp."
The play was part of a week-long theatre workshop under the direction of Prairie Fire Children's Theatre, a Minnesota group that sends out 12 sets of directors to prepare and perform plays with young people in workshops throughout the summer.
According to theatre manager Bruce Greenhill, Prairie Fire directors and volunteers worked with a group of more than 70 children from Monday auditions through four practices Tuesday through Friday to prepare the kids to know their lines, project and speak with proper inflection to perform the classic kids story.
One of the mothers of kids performing in the play, Kathy Osterman, of Hurley, described the week as "super busy" but fun for the kids. While there was a lot of activity, the kids "looked out for each other" in the hectic environment.
Two of the young people, Marissa Ritter and Bela Diewald, opted to learn technical aspects of theatre instead and ended up running the sound and lights during the program. Due to the training they had during the week, Ritter said she was "confident" in running the sound board for the show. Both Ritter and Diewald said they enjoyed the experiences of the week.
The play was divided up into 18 short acts and featured fast pacing as the kids acted out pieces of the ancient story about a genie, a lamp, and all they encounter.
Many of the actors formed clusters of maidens, merchants, slaves, vagabonds and even talking gemstones through the performance.
As the play progressed to its "happily ever after" ending, the crowd cheered the young actors and actresses. There were many group photos taken afterward to help remember the experience.
The play was under the direction of Prairie Fire's Zach Decker and Rachel Humphrey, who help guide the kids through the week with the aim of creating a feeling of success in the actors.
