Solarium will perform “Alice in Wonderland” in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Friday Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. and on Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Solarium Productions is a completely student run theater group affiliated with the Boys and Girls Club. All the actors, directors, grips, set designers and costume designers are students from the community.
The show was cast in May, and rehearsals started towards the end of July.
“Early on, the biggest problem we faced was a lack of experience,” the director of the show, Senior Jacob Sexton, said.
Typically in community or school run shows, parents or a third party volunteer help with costume and set design, advertising and fundraising. Without any adult assistance, students had to learn to do these jobs through a process of trial and error.
“The experience that these students have gained really shows. I don’t think they would’ve been given these opportunities most anywhere else,” said Sexton.
For most people involved, working with only students has been a much different experience than working with a mix of teachers, adults and students.
“It’s a whole different ball game. There is a lack of experience but no lack of energy,” the stage manager of the show, junior Adam Diersing, said. “There are different goals and different experiences brought to the table.”
While the show has faced some difficulties, junior Isabelle Neal, Alice in the show, said that everyone in the cast and crew has been extremely dedicated to the show.
“I think we have all worked really hard on this. Since it was something that we basically decided to create together, everyone is pretty invested in it. That’s important,” said Neal.
The cast has blocked all of the show, and some of the major costumes are finished. Solarium will also be moving the set from The Warehouse, where they have been rehearsing, to the Buskirk-Chumley theater next weekend.
Tickets are available on the Buskirk-Chumley website and at the Buskirk-Chumley box office, and the tickets will be $5 for students and $10 for adults. All money made from the show tickets will go to Boys and Girls Club.
