Inside King's-Edgehill School
Almost, Maine has been one of the top high school play productions for the past few years, and it offers a collection of short love scenes, exploring new-found love, long-lasting friendships that take an exciting leap of faith, or partnerships whose love has dissolved over time. With the world’s problems weighing heavily on our shoulders, our Senior School students present uplifting and inspiring stories that remind us of the good things in life. Even when faced with adversity, love will find a way. Almost, Maine is brought to you by enthusiastic and spirited students who are bursting with bright talent. Thank you to our backstage members Sarah, Lily, Maeve, and Qiaoman for interviewing the cast and crew and for writing Newsletter articles each week.
In preparation for the shows on April 21st and 22nd, we are excited to present three members of our gifted cast and crew to give you a sneak peak of the incredible talent you can expect to see!
From the sunny island of Barbados, Melanie Bent is in her third and final year here at King’s-Edgehill. Melanie’s passion for the Arts began when she was child. She has been involved in over 15 productions: some of those being dramatizations, musicals, and short pieces. According to Melanie, the Arts has kept her “sane” during this pandemic. Melanie has used music and dancing to release any stress that has been built up during this time of uncertainty. After seeing the positive affects it has had on her own life, Melanie feels that everyone should at least participate in the Arts once as it is an excellent way to clear your mind. Due to this love and aspiration for the Arts and theatre, Melanie decided to join the Senior Play. For this production, Melanie has decided to switch things up and work backstage versus her usual position of being onstage. When asked about how she was feeling about this new position Melanie stated:
“I’m looking forward to working backstage. I have never worked backstage, and I am looking forward to being a part of the behind the scenes”.
This is Lily Sidorchuk's first year working backstage. She helps with many different things like interviewing the cast, painting sets, and even getting the word out to the students by helping with the posters. Lily joined because she's interested in what we will be doing backstage. She says the most challenging part is time management between schoolwork and sports. “It'll not be easy”, but she is still prepared to give it her best. Lily believes helping with the play will help bring out her creative side with set design and painting. The life skill she would like to get from this experience is balancing everything with her busy schedule.
Will Mercer is from Port Williams, and he's in Grade 11. This is Will's third year at KES. He participates in the Senior School Play this year because he feels that he discovered a new love for theatre! He's not entirely sure exactly why, but theater is something he's been able to identify with. Will loves the rush of anxiety and the energy on stage. He loves watching a production go from nothing to something. The musical Chicago that was performed last year was super fun and opened his eyes to musical theatre. Now he is obsessed. He would absolutely recommend participating in the Arts, performance or visual, or both! It's an excellent opportunity to develop new skills and have fun. For Will, the Arts, and particularly the performing arts, help develop many vital skills. For example, confidence and vocal projection; skills like those are essential in every part of life.
