ALICE in WONDERLAND: November 2014

Shadow puppets are rarely seen in use. They may be exploited for setting the scene, transitions or creating fantasy elements. Just imagine the possibilities!

Alice from Page to Stage

When Lewis Carroll published Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, with the illustrations by John Tenniel, he could not have known how deeply this story would penetrate our culture.

Alice in Wonderland, the fantastical novel that details the journey of a young girl in an underground land, has been retold in movies, song and dance since the first silent movie in 1903. Disney Studios animated the story in 1951 and in 1983, the first Japanese anime of the story was released. At the foundation of the many live- action and animated films, plays, ballets and musicals is the well-known story of Alice and the many characters she meets in her quest.

This spring, the drama students at Centennial Secondary School are going to present their interpretation of Alice on Centennials’ stage under the tutelage of Drama teacher, Kelly Carroll and the Set Design teacher, Lise Lindenberg. This is the third co-production of these two CSS teachers who worked together on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sherlock Holmes. The students are enrolled in a two-credit course and attend two 75 minute classes every day to work on acting, set design, promotion, fund-raising, props, costumes and the technical aspects of the production. Once a week, they also meet after school to rehearse and spend extra time outside of class preparing for the production.

The students will have to solve the design challenges that arise when trying to present such iconic characters. Should the characters resemble the Tenniel illustrations? Does Alice have to be blonde? Do the footmen have to be a frog and a fish? In addition to solving the issues, the students must consider how to look at the story with fresh eyes and see if they can find ways to incorporate technical elements such as projections, scrim cloth, lighting, sound and film into the final production.