This week, Champion High School’s theater program will present their second production of the year, Anne Frank. A total of six shows will occur from Wednesday, November 11 until Sunday, November 15. Tickets are available online and at the door for each show.
At the end of the 3pm Sunday matinee, the cast will be answering questions from the audience. The cast created this opportunity, so many audience members would connect with the play. “I felt the show helped connect with the audience in a touching way, allowing them to feel the joy, sorrow, and loneliness they felt during their experiences in the Holocaust,” said junior Mason Jackson.
Anne Frank retells the story of a family hiding from Nazis during WWII. They spend years in an attic, only receiving food and items from Miep, a normalized German resident. While in hiding, a daring love story develops between Anne and Peter Van Daan, the only boy in the attic hiding place. At the same time the marriage of Peter’s parents is deteriorating and we witness their efforts to rekindle their love. The relationships serve to remind us that personal growth can come from different situations.
“The Van Daans seem very hostile towards anything that doesn’t go their way, and [the hostility] seems to stem from the fact that they are used to living in luxury,” said junior Sam Martin (Peter Van Daan).
Israel Aviles, known by students as Avi, is the theatre director who organized Anne Frank in hopes of making it fit the schedule of busy students and to allow more people the opportunity of being involved in the show. To accommodate the busy schedules of theater students, the cast is broken into BLUE and GREY casts. Each performance will feature a different group.
“It was really nice that he took the band kids into consideration when casting and planning schedules. It was really nice having someone playing the exact same role so you could work with them,” said junior Jacquelyn Nevarez (Margot Frank). “It also made it less stressful.”
Not only did the cast benefit from having someone to communicate with about their role, more cast members had an opportunity to play prominent roles. The cast had multiple chances to showcase their talent through dramatic and emotional monologues.
“I thought that the monologues were well executed,” said Jackson. “I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of skill presented within them.”
Anne Frank includes a guest cast member to assist with the plot of the show. Mushi the cat, played by Ziggy, is a real life cat owned by junior Joshua Galbreath who plays a German SS Officer.
“Ziggy felt a little nervous at first, but overall he has been having a really good time, and he loves everyone,” said Galbreath.
Through months of rehearsals, the cast has developed relationships on and offstage to produce engaging chemistry on stage.
“Everyone got along and we had days where we would bond to make the connections more real on stage,” said Nevarez.
Many in the audience shed tears, became emotionally captivated by the performance, and appreciated the historical accuracy.
“It was amazing and really informative,” said Abby Dell. “I recommend it to everyone. Everyone should go see it.”