And A Child Shall Lead
When you hear about what the IKE players are currently rehearsing, you will definitely need to take a second to process that information. To start off, it is an incredibly written play that takes emotional depth to a whole new level. This breathtaking show pulls you into a whirlwind of emotions using poems and works of art from children in Terezin, A Nazi concentration camp during World War 2. Although this subject is hard-hitting, we have two casts this year to do it justice. Stephen Clark, the director, says, “Every show we do has a specific story to tell, and this show is no different. The story might be heavier, but we are still telling a story and having the same responsibilities to the author in that way”. Now all that's left to do is tell that story to an audience. One of the actors, Sarah Lara, also gets an educational experience as well when portraying Alena. She says, “ I’m just now realizing how big and bad it actually was.”
The IKE players are split into two casts this year: the red cast and the blue cast. The Red Cast will be performing on November 2 at 7:00 p.m. and November 4 at 2:00 p.m. While our Blue Cast will be performing on November 3 at 7:00 p.m. and November 4 at 7:00 p.m. Thursday and Saturday morning, performances will be performed by Arissa Flinkfelt, Naomi Lara, Anthony Douthit, Chloe Devers, Emily, Keyser, Maximiliano Mendoza, and Daniel Garcia. Arissa Flinkfelt, Clara Zeilman, Luciano Rodriguez, Sarah Lara, Lenora Leder, Salvador Jimenez, Micheal Kielhorn, and Connor Arvizu will perform on Friday and Saturday nights.
This play has 8 characters total, 4 male and 4 female. Our thought-provoking characters are Erik Kosek(Maximiliano Mendoza, Micheal Kielhorn), 8 years old, idolizes Miroslav; Martin Lowey(Salvador Jimenez, Keyser), 10 years old, the “new” guy who doesn’t fit in, Pavel Hoffman (Daniel Garcia, Connor Arvizu): 14 years old, plays the recorder and loves music, Miroslav Meiss(Anthony douthit, Luciano Rodriguez); 15 years old, a natural leader, Jana Hellerova(Clara Zeilman, Naomi Lara); 6 years old, Evas little sister who doesn't understand her childhood isn’t normal, Eva Hellerova(Arissa Flinkfelt): 14 years old, Janas older sister, mother figure, Alena Lederova(Sarah Lara,chloe);11 years old, known for her dark humor, and Gabriela Winterova(Lenora Leder, Emily); 12 years old, loves music. Each of these characters adds a little something to the emotional depth of the play.
This play is set in World War 2, specifically in Terezin, a Jewish city. Terezin was a concentration camp 30 miles north of Prague in World War Two. This horrible place was originally a resort for the wealthy in Prague until the Nazis took it over. Because of the heavy setting of this play, Clark says, “There are additional elements educationally... Because it is based on a true story of stuff that happened in history, and so we are portraying real people and real events.”
To get into the technical side of putting on a play it’s important to remember the man that makes it all happen; Stephen Clark. Clark has been in theater for nearly 20 years. Clark started working here at IKE about ten years ago, starting with technical theater stuff and then moving on to being IKE’s director three years ago. In those three years, Clark has directed four plays and two musicals. Clark makes a random play on some paper look like a masterpiece in his students' eyes. (quote) Clark is always willing to learn with his students, whether that means learning new slang or learning more about theater.
One of the coolest things about our shows is our amazing set design. Set design can make or break a show. The IKE players are lucky to have Kristen Clinkenbeard, who designs our sets. Clinkenbeard is our technical director. Clinkenbeard is an icon in our theater who helps us with anything from blocking to painting sets. Clinkenbeard's list of to-do’s is longer than most people can handle, but she always shows us up with her hard work. The duo between Clinkenbeard and Clark is an iconic duo who have been friends for the past ten years. When Clark became the head of the theater program, he knew he brought in the legend that IKe drama kids know as Clink. Clark says, “We have been working together a long time and work really, really well together. We have a lot of the same instincts and design styles and everything. So it works really well.”
The students think that this show could teach people what history books can’t. This show lets you view the lives of people in the past. Sarah Lara says “I think being in the show and actually learning more in-depth about it I've gotten to know just how bad it was… being in the show you like ‘that actually happened.” It was such a big part in everyone's lives, and it affected so many people.” Anthony Douthit adds to that and says, “It’s a good way of addressing all the terrible things that happened while maintaining a friendly appearance.” The students in this place are excited to have a new challenge to accomplish, but they are also becoming hyper-aware of what went on in history because of this.
In hopes you join IKE theater, Sarah Lara says, “They should support us especially when we do shows like this that give a really good story about stuff that actually happened, and by supporting the drama club, we can keep doing stuff like this to really share history that actually happened in a more interesting way… on a stage, it makes it more exciting to learn.“ If you would like to join IKE theater, we have auditions for our spring musical Oklahoma on November 15 and 16. If you have any questions, contact Stephan Clark at clark.stephen@ysd7.org.