By Tom Ganser
Correspondent
The Whitewater High School Players production of “Afraid of the Dark” opened Feb. 23 in the WHS Auditorium. Performances repeat on Feb. 24 and 25 at 7:30 p.m., with a 2:00 p.m. performance on Feb. 26.
Reserved seat tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens and can be reserved by calling (262) 472-8178 or purchased at the box office one hour before the performance.
In this mashup of a comedy and a spy story, Chauncey and Lillums arrive at “Stone Mansion” for their two-week honeymoon. It’s an isolated and supposedly unoccupied country estate belonging to his Aunt Alberta. Upon Chauncey’s admission to his new bride that he’s always “afraid of the dark,” the lights suddenly go out, and then suddenly back on again. And the couple find themselves surrounded by fantastic characters in the middle of a spy plot.
The cast for “Afraid of the Dark” is under the direction of Jim McCulloch and assisted by student directors Cally Julson and Gwen Smith. The cast includes Allisan Barrett, Gianna Creanza, Michell Dalzin, Haley Deiter, Michael Hilliger, Jeremy Hoesly, Alec Holt, Jimmy King, Weston Lema, Andra Matthews, Nicole Sedmak, Caty Strait and Remi Van Daele.
The technical support for this production is provided by Savannah Boss, Maddie Elworthy, Josie Hintz, David Kromholtz, Gabe Schemmel and Emma Van Daele.
“Come join us for WHS’s production of ‘Afraid of the Dark.’ Our students have been working hard and so come see their talent on display. The shows are always well-done and well-directed,” Whitewater District Administrator Mark Elworthy said.
After having seen her son, Jeremy, in 15 or so Whitewater Unified School District performances over the past seven years, Becky Hoesly believes that the students working on theatrical prductions learn to trust their castmates and themselves.
“Things do not always go as expected – lines and props are forgotten, cues are missed, and you learn to trust that the you can work together, go with the flow and pull it off, without the audience being aware of the mishaps (most of the time),” Hoesly said. “You learn about the importance of preparation, hard work and teamwork. You don’t want to let your director, cast, crew or audience down. So whether your role is big or small, you work on lines, develop your character and learn how to put it all together so that no matter which night someone decides to come out and see the show, they will experience the joys of being entertained.
“All of these experiences prepare you for what lies beyond Whitewater High School, where you may no longer be a character on stage, or one of the crew that supports those characters, but a young adult who will have opportunities to show great character in life.”
Jacquie Sedmak, Nicole Sedmak’s mother, said as she listens to her daughter practice her lines as Aunt Alberta, she is thankful for all of Nicole’s opportunities with the Drama Club.
“Usually, Nicole is a serious individual who loves to learn new content in many areas, especially in the academic areas. But learning comedic speaking, acting and timing is a new adventure for her,” Jacquie Sedmak said. “Knowing she usually isn’t the funny one or class clown, her lines for ‘Afraid of the Dark’ crack me up even more. I am excited to see her jump into this new adventure as part of the WHS drama community. Throughout Nicole’s two years at WHS and two more years to come, I am happy to know that WHS will offer artistic opportunities for Nicole and other students to express their talents in many different ways.”
Beginning about 30 minutes before each performance, photos of the three prior WHS spring plays (“Almost Maine,” “Play On!” and “The Crucible”) will be shown in the auditorium.
