Theater department performs Charlotte’s Web for annual children’s play
The theater department performed “Charlotte’s Web” in the Black Box Theater Nov. 20-21 for its annual children’s show. Every seat was filled by an EISD elementary student on a field trip to see the play.
“‘Charlotte’s Web’ was the last show I picked for the season because our theme for this year is spreading kindness and love in the community,” director Meredith Yanchak said. “I was looking for something that dealt with friendship, and ‘Charlotte’s Web’ fit the part.”
Auditions for “Charlotte’s Web” were held during the first week of October. Once roles were chosen, the cast read the script together towards the end of the month, giving everyone a limited amount of time to rehearse and prepare. A lot of hard work was put into the show, and everyone had a part to play in making it happen. Students who did not want to act in a main role were given other options like lighting or stage crew.
Rather than rent costumes, theater students actually make them themselves. After working for the costume crew in previous performances, junior Emily Ruthven was given the opportunity to be chief. Yanchak drew the sketches for the costumes and then gave them to the costume crew. Emily, freshman Lily Scheifele and sophomores Reem Hinedi and Courtney Young all worked together to sew the costumes. “While these costumes required a lot of hard work, once I saw them on stage and heard the feedback from our audience, I had never felt so proud,” Emily said.
The costume crew also designed sophomore Jamima Abalogu’s spider costume. In the show, Jamima played Charlotte, one of the main characters in the story. Jamima has been interested in theater since fifth grade, and after doing many school performances in the past, she’s totally comfortable on stage. For “Charlotte’s Web,” Jamima wanted to challenge herself with this role as it was different from her past roles.
“There’s this exciting moment when the stage lights hit your face and you’re in full costume with an audience, that it feels like you step into your character,” Jamima said. “That moment makes all the hard work and long days feel worth it.”
![Festival goers gather on the Zilker Park lawn for a day of kite flying, entertainment, and food at the ABC KiteFest Sunday, April 14. “It was super fun to watch people flying their kites and also fly my own,” Tucker said. “[KiteFest] is always a highlight of my year and I plan to return every year moving forward.”](https://westlakefeatherduster.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kite-600x450.jpeg)
![The Wind Ensemble, conducted by director Kerry Taylor, plays in the Performing Arts Center Wednesday, Mar 27. “Some challenges we face with our music are always solved through our weekly sectionals,” Qadan said. “They are helpful because it gives each section the chance to work with one another on their weakest part of the music and fix everything that needs to be [fixed].”](https://westlakefeatherduster.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/band-1-600x450.jpeg)
