East Troy High School theater students on stage next week
By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
The kids involved in the East Troy High School summer school theater project have been busy for the past several weeks preparing for their production of “All in the Timing.”
The show is a series of one-act plays by David Ives that director Brian Wegener said he’s been wanting to do for a while now.
“They’re all so witty, it’s just hilarious,” Wegener said. “We’re not doing all of them because we’re limited with the group, but they’ve really done a nice job with what we have. I could do a whole other group of five and they’d be just as funny.”
Wegener, 50, is an English teacher at East Troy High School and has directed many plays in the past. He pulled back a little from directing in recent years to spend more time with his children, but was thrilled to have the opportunity to do the summer theater this year.
One of the reasons he was so interested is because unlike in the past, this year’s theater project is part of the School District’s summer school enrichment program.
“We’ve spent a lot of time putting on the show, but now we’ve added classes in acting and theater,” Wegener said. “The kids have been having a lot of fun and they’re all working hard – they’re all participating in one way or another.”
Wegener said theater is a great way for kids to learn teamwork skills and take on leadership roles that they might not get elsewhere.
“It’s like a big machine – a big clock with all those working pieces,” he said. “It also helps kids develop empathy, whether it’s learning about the world by portraying somebody else or just seeing things through different eyes.”
Assistant director is Cady Cumming, and production manager is Cathy Trader. The cast and crew is made up of students in a summer school enrichment class.
The separate plays in “All in the Timing” are:
• “The Philadelphia” with Katherine Aldred as the waitress, Hannah Buchholtz as Alice and Michael Lois as Mark.
• “Time Flies” with Alexandra Mitchell as May, Nick Schmieden as Horace and Michael Lois as Sir David Attenborough.
• “Words, Words, Words” with Natalie Mengel as Swift, Hannah Buchholtz as Kafka and Alexandra Mitchell as Milton.
• “Sure Thing” with Michael Lois as Bill and Alexandra Schmieden as Betty.
• “Variations on the Death of Trotsky” with Michael Lois as Leon Trotsky, Alex Schmieden as Mrs. Trotsky and Austin Felske as Ramon.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23; 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 24; and 7:30 p.m. on and Friday, July 25, in the High School lecture hall.
Tickets may be purchased in advance or at the door, and prices are adults $8, students and seniors $5. Call (262) 215-2109 to for more information or to reserve your tickets.
