There’s upperclassmen are acting as first graders in a Shakespeare play? Yes, that’s exactly what to expect of the One Act this year, titled “Pericles as Done by Mrs. Gower’s 1st Grade Class.” The theater department also announced that the winter play will be “The Odyssey” and runs Dec. 11-13.
“Pericles” is a classic Shakespeare play about a prince named Pericles who wants to reunite with his wife and daughter, going through many trials and tribulations along the way. But, in the One Act, the twist is that the cast will be playing the characters as first graders in Mrs. Gower’s class who are acting in the play.
“I think it’s gonna be a lot more difficult because it’s a play within a play but it’ll be really fun,” said Julia West, a junior cast to play Whitney in Pericles and Circe in The Odyssey said.
The One-Act will be performed at East on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. before they take the show on the road for the District theater competition on Oct. 18. The cast and crew are comprised of upperclassmen, many of whom have been active with the Eastside Players for their entire time in high school.
“I think it’s gonna be a really fun endeavor to be a part of, and I think it’s gonna be great to be able to travel and play with this group of people for one last time before I graduate,” said Jase Frost-Olsen, a senior who was cast as Farrah in the One Act and has multiple roles in The Odyssey.
The winter play, The Odyssey, is a continuation of the Greek story The Iliad, where a man named Odysseus travels home from the Trojan war over the span of 20 years.
“This guy named Odysseus, he fights in the Trojan War, right? And now he’s trying to get back home, but he keeps bumping into all these different trials and whatnot, like something, some power to kind of keep him from getting home. And some other powers are like, um, we want him home because, like, he’s done so much for us,” said Chidinma Oguejiofor, a senior set to play Zeus in The Odyssey.
Students can see East’s production of The Odyssey in the Margaret Williams Theatre Dec. 11-13.
“Come see the One Act and the Odyssey. It’s gonna be really good,” said Milena Schuknecht, a junior cast as King Menelaus in The Odyssey and as Megan in Pericles.
