Jenna Jochum - Feature Writer
Pitch black, curtains closed, and popcorn in hand. The suspense in the air feels like a great burden on weights of everyone's shoulders who are a waiting for this magical journey to begin. The droopy, yet story telling curtains, crawl open to a village full of jealousy, love, humor, and a disaster waiting to happen.
The Norfolk Senior High Theater department is starting the 2015-2016 theater year off with Snow White and the Little Men and Ever After. The high school drama department, headed by Taryn Retzlaff, with assistants Kathy Steinkamp and Brittany Young, have announced the cast and crew for this year's fall production. Starring in this year's lead role as Snow White in Ever After are Junior, Tatum Hausmann, who has been involved in NHS theatre all three of her years here and freshman, Alaina Pihlgren, who is performing in her first play at Norfolk Senior High in Snow White and the Little Men.
"NHS drama is where I found who I wanted to be. Acting is like transforming yourself to someone you would never dream of becoming. I've been in many plays; such as: Peter Pan, The Diviners, You Can't Take It with You, Animal Farm, and The Sound of Music. Although, with this being my last year, I figured I could go bold and hope for the best; I am so thankful for being a lead role in Ever After," Tatum Hausmann, junior, said.
"What does it mean to you to be head of the NHS Theatre Department?"
"I think I have the best job in the world! I get to work with awesome people like Mrs. Young and, Mrs. Steinkamp, and the 100+ kids we have involved. We have a blast at practices, have a highly active Drama Club, and work hard to produce quality plays for the community. To top it all off, our home is in the Johnny Carson Theatre, which in my opinion, is the best high school theatre in the state," Ms. Retzlaff, head of drama department, said.
She explained that her special group of kids that she gets to work with is very diverse and fun, but know how to work hard all at the same time. The theater department chose to do Snow White and the Little Men and Ever After because children play productions are very popular throughout the Norfolk community.
"What does a regular practice production day even consist of?"
Ms. Retzlaff informed me that their department usually has practices from 6:00 p.m. to about 8:30ish, so that some of the theater students can be involved in other activities in our school or in the community. "The kids know that when I say, "Let's run that one more time," I really mean lets run that ten more times!," Ms. Retzlaff, head of drama department, said.
"Being a part of the theatre department means: Teamwork. Each individual might have a different part to play onstage, the backstage, beyond the stage, or sometimes in the audience. In Acting Theater, the actors don't have a set path to follow; they have to go home, become completely enveloped in their character and go onstage and pretend to be a completely different person for about four times a year," Wilfred Gomez, sound crew chief, said when I asked him about life in the drama department.
Sophomore Megan Neilson, is looking to do some serious work behind the scenes this year for all the upcoming plays. "NHS Theatre means being able to be a part of a team and working to bring all parts of the production together to put on a successful show. I have been on the tech crew for a year now, helping in The Sound of Music, Animal Farm, Hit and Misdemeanor, and The Crucible. All the people in NHS drama make it a fun experience and atmosphere," Neilson, said.
"Snow White and The Little Men" and "Ever After" were shown in the Johnny Carson Theatre on September 24th, 26th, and 27th.
Come out and support Norfolk Senior High's drama department by attending one or more performances throughout the year!
Check out this article in the full September 2015 issue of the Panther Newspaper.
