Next month, AHS’ very own award-winning Advanced Drama Department (ADD) will be presenting their annual fall production, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Based on the well-known classic written by Roald Dahl, this comical performance will follow Charlie’s journey as he goes on a tour around Willy Wonka’s mysterious factory. The play is produced by Steven Volpe and directed by Whitney Labarge, and will be showcased by the hardworking drama students in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) on Nov. 15 to 17 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the story explores the adventure of 11-year-old Charlie Bucket, who finds one of the Golden Tickets that earns him a spot on the exclusive tour with four other children at Willy Wonka’s candy factory. Throughout the story, the four children go through trials and end up being ousted from the factory due to their greedy and materialistic personalities, leaving Charlie as the “winner” of the entire factory. However, unlike the novel, which is generally aimed towards a younger audience, the play will contain a “more modern and mature vibe that still retains the same comedic and silly features”, junior Emily Phan, an ADD member, said about the play. She continued to express that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be a unique production because “it will be much more colorful and vibrant.”

The cast of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has spent countless hours preparing their material to perfect the play for audience members, as they are required to attend daily rehearsals from 3:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. When asked about a typical rehearsal, junior Amanda Hong reveals that the actors and actresses usually “start with warmups to get [their] bodies ready for rehearsal,” and will occasionally “do vocal warm-ups if [they] are singing that day.” Once warm-ups end, the ADD students begin their process of “blocking the scene,” which allows the directors to view where the actors are in relation to the audience. This procedure is normally divided into two parts: the “actors making their choices for the particular scene” and the “directors giving suggestions and changing what they see to make it fit for the entire play.” Blocking each scene takes up the majority of the students’ rehearsals, but after the entire process is completed, they run through the scenes to ensure that everything runs through smoothly. Spending so much time practicing and preparing definitely pays off—the actors, actresses, and crew always manage to put on a show-stopping performance!

This play will be a “magical and beautiful” experience for audience members of all ages, which is why you should not miss out on this memorable chance to take the night off and support AHS’ Stage and Stagecraft students! Student and senior tickets are sold for $10, general admission tickets are $15, and VIP tickets are $30. Tickets tend to sell out quickly, so make sure you purchase them soon!

Photo courtesy of ARCADIAPAF.ORG