 "Photo: JOHN LARSON, THE VOLATE, 2009")
 "Photo: JOHN LARSON, THE VOLANTE, 2009")
 "Photo: JOHN LARSON, THE VOLANTE, 2009")
Last week, the audience was transported to a timeless land of darting lights that become fairies and enchanted forests where pirates lurk during the USD Theatre Department’s classical account of “Peter Pan.” Many students and community members found their younger side in Neverland.
Audiences of all ages crowded into the Wayne S. Knutson Theatre to watch the USD Theatre Department’s musical production of “Peter Pan” by J.M. Barrie which ran Dec. 4-8. This play was a large scale production because of the flying scenes using suspension cables and a cast of almost 60 members.
The play captured the hearts and imaginations of everyone in the audience, young and old as laughter and applause came from them throughout the performance. Brianna Remund, audience member and aunt to Brianna Wetrosky who played Wendy Darling, and daughter Madeline, 8, both felt the actors made the story and magic of “Peter Pan” come alive.
“I always tear up when I hear the part about fairies needing people to believe in them,” Remund said. “This play never gets old for me, it just reminds me of the child I was once.”
At a discussion forum held Nov. 16 in the Muenster University Center, concerns were voiced about how the play was going to handle the cultural content, Nanette Hofer said. Hofer, the play’s stage and musical director, said the USD Theatre Department offered those concerned about the references to American Indians in the original script an altered script to read, or the opportunity to come to a rehearsal. Many of the American Indians present at the discussion wanted to make sure that the play would not include any references to their culture.
“We have done everything to address the concerns of the indigenous people of South Dakota,” Hofer said. “This is not the 1950s Disney version of the play, it is our own.”
By law, the play has to be produced the way the script is written, but the USD Theatre Department was given special permission because of its location in the Midwest to make changes. Everything was taken out of the script that had to do with the American Indian culture, Hofer said.
Junior David Hernandez, who played a Lost Boy named Curly, said the play did not include a single reference to American Indians or their culture. Instead, the play focused on creating a unique tribe of people unlike any existing culture.
“We (the Lost Boys) are living on this island out in the middle of nowhere where we have our own culture, where we let our child-like imaginations run wild,” Hernandez said.
The wild people living on the island are simply called Islanders who are dressed in pajama-type outfits thought up by costume designer Linda Scribner.
For the first time, the USD Theatre Department experienced the wonders of adding flight to their productions with the help of Roger Benavides from ZFX flight crew from Louisville, Kan. Benavides said ZFX is one of only nine companies in the world that travels to different continents training theater departments and their actors. They have worked with Broadway shows like “Wicked,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and “Aladdin.”
Benavides trained five students and choreographer Debra Workman over three days to use the flight wires and harnesses. The flight crew was left on their own to manage the equipment after being trained.
Junior Ben Kramer was part of the flight crew that manually hoisted the actors into the air. Kramer said he felt like the responsibility was a huge task. Kramer also said the time required to learn the cues of when to hoist the cables and how much, was lengthy.
“It is physically demanding to lift the actors because you are lifting their full weight by pulling on a rope,” Kramer said. “The actors have to trust that we aren’t going to lose our grip on the ropes and let them fall, it’s not as effortless as it looks to the audience.”
Actors senior Mary Fitzgibbons, who played Peter Pan, and Dylan Workman, a sixth grader from Vermillion who played Michael Darling, both agreed that flying, while fun, had its painful side.
“I’ve been sore from the harness and trying to control my body movements in it ever since Roger taught us how to use them,” Fitzgibbons said. “But it’s one of the most exciting elements of theater I’ve ever experienced as well as an integral part of the show. This experience with this show has been a great addition to my education.”
Workman said he felt lucky to have such a great opportunity in theater so young. He said he struggled at first with the idea of being lifted above the ground on a thin wire.
“Every time I fly up for rehearsal for the first time, I feel like my stomach is dropping out underneath me, but then I just get excited,” Workman said.
Hofer said if she had to describe this production of “Peter Pan” is one word, she would use “technical.” There were countless details to coordinate in this play because of how large the show was, she said.
“The show is primarily a technical masterpiece to bring to the stage with so many actors and crew to coordinate,” Hofer said. “But to the audience, it becomes a wonderful fusion of technical elements and theatrical artistry that has everyone believing in the magic of Neverland again.”
Reach reporter Kayla Smith at Kayla.Smith@usd.edu.
5 comments