By Jack Leitch ’24
Every year, the IB Theatre Class at St. Paul’s puts on the Senior Show: a piece selected by and entirely designed by the students of that class. This year, for the first time in the 12-year history of the class, the Senior Show will be a musical. Our decision to put on this musical, called Alice by Heart, was an ambitious one. Ten students, instead of the normal faculty directors, designers, and producers, have had to collaborate on all elements of the musical, from the choreography to the costumes. These ten students – three from SP and seven from SPSG – are driving the creation of this year’s Senior Show.
As a member of the IB Theatre Class, I wanted to provide some insight into the uniqueness of Alice by Heart and our process over the past few months. I interviewed Chloe Gieske ’24, who plays Alice (the show’s protagonist). Gieske shares that the process “is very challenging…I feel like we’ve all been pushed to work extremely hard on all of the aspects of the show,” but is enthused that “our work has really paid off.”
But what is Alice by Heart? Matthew Thompson ’24, who plays Alfred (Alice’s love interest and the male lead of the show), describes it as “a story about these two childhood friends during World War 2 taking refuge in a makeshift bomb shelter in a subway station, trying to process and accept the grief of the situation that one of the friends – Alfred – is dying from tuberculosis.”. Thompson continued, saying “they do so by imagining themselves and their favorite childhood story, Alice in Wonderland.” Each actor has their own interpretation of the play, too. Natalie Kim, who plays the Cheshire Cat, said “I would say it’s about love and loss,” offering a more thematic interpretation of the show. “Sometimes, when you’re going through trauma” Kim shares, “you have to lean on things that you might not normally lean on and that can a lot of the times lead to some pretty cool discoveries about yourself and the people around you.” Both Thompson and Kim allude to the universal appeal of Alice by Heart. At its core, Alice by Heart is a show about real, raw human emotions and how we cope in times of crisis – sometimes in beautiful, fantastical ways.
My classmates and I have been working hard for the past few months performing this musical, and it is a unique new experience for some. Gieske, who is in her first lead role, shared that “the experience has been thrilling and nerve wracking and amazing all at once,” in part because each actor has been free to take on their role how they see fit, with no one singular adult or director telling them how to do it. This leads to interesting, creative takes on characters and is part of what makes the Senior Show so iconic each year. Thompson, despite being a 9-year veteran of the theater scene at St. Paul’s, says that “Alfred has been one of the more developed characters that I’ve been able to explore.” Overall, the show is set to feature a plethora of onstage talent from the IB Theatre Class.
As mentioned, the performance itself is not the only element of a musical, and certainly not the only thing these students have had to work on. Production and technical elements are just as important, and often more work, too. One of the unique challenges of producing a musical is designing choreography for each musical number in the show. With 10 people in the class and roughly 20 musical numbers, each student took on two or three numbers that they would have to independently develop choreography for. As a self-proclaimed “wildly inexperienced choreographer,” Kim shared that “you have to really think about where everyone is at one time, see how the movements go with each other, and how they look onstage,” admitting that it often took three or more hours to develop movement patterns for songs only a couple minutes long. Many in the class have echoed Kim’s sentiment, saying that once these musical numbers got choreographed, it was always another matter entirely to teach to the other members of the class. Thankfully, the Alice by Heart cast are quick learners, and most have dance or musical background that helps with choreography.
Each student in the class was also in charge of assisting with the development of the tech aspects of the show, which are divided into props, costumes, set, and lighting/sound. Like the other elements of the show, these had to be developed entirely by the students themselves. Kim, who is working on costumes along with Reese Owens and Kaitlyn Cole, said “I think it plays well to my creative strengths. I feel like I’m a pretty artistic person, so being able to work with new materials, like fabric, is a challenge, but an exciting challenge.” Carrying out tasks varies for each group. The Set and Props teams compile long lists of items to create, often building with available materials. Costumes creates drafts for each character, then finds costume pieces at thrift stores and online. And of course, all of this is done while working within the constraints of a budget.
This student-led development and design of the play is yet another reason why the Senior Show is a must-see performance every year.
Buy your tickets here and see below for a full list of the cast for Alice by Heart!
https://tinyurl.com/alicebyhearttickets
Cast:
Chloe Gieske – Alice
Matthew Thompson – Alfred/ White Hare
Natalie Kim – Tabatha/ Chesire Cat
Chloe Alvather – Dodgy/ Duchess, Mock Mock Mock Mock Turtle
Lauren Dockman – Red Cross Nurse/ Queen of Hearts
Jack Leitch – Dr. Butridge/ King of Hearts/ Jabberwocky/ Mock Turtle
McKenzie Hughes – Clarissa/ Queen of Diamonds/ Mock Mock Mock Turtle/ Caterpillar 2
Reese Owens – Harold Pudding/ Mad Hatter/ Knave of Spades/ Mock Mock Turtle
Kaitlyn Cole – Angus/ Caterpillar 1/ Knave of Hearts
Cina Daskalakis – Nigel/ Dormouse/ Knave of Clubs
Haley Hopkins – Young Alice
Avi Joseph – Young Alfred
Aiden Miller – Stage Manager
Elizabeth Mulinde – Assistant Stage Manager
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