Patton Middle School’s Junior Thespians are launching a production of Roald Dahl’s classic, “James and the Giant Peach.” This is a kid-friendly stage adaptation of the timeless story.
The show will be performed at Patton Middle School on March 5 at 2 p.m. This is a free show for the public. Doors open a half-hour before the show starts. Donations to the Patton Drama program will be appreciated, but are not required.
The story follows James, a young boy whose parents have a run-in with a rhinoceros, and he is forced to live with his mean aunts. James is provided a bag of magic, which he drops on a peach. The peach grows in size, and James has an amazing adventure with his new insect friends: Spider, Worm, Ladybug, Grasshopper and Centipede.
This has been a brand-new experience for the Thespians of Patton. This entire production has been cast, directed and tech-ed by the students in Junior Thespian Troupe 89053. Eighth graders Annie Clayton and Sydney Holcombe have been directing their peers.
“I’m extremely proud of their hard work and focus,” said Emily Wilcox, Patton drama teacher. “Besides one public performance, the thespians will also tour the production to five of McMinnville’s elementary schools to share our love of theatre with McMinnville’s youngest,” she said.
Brooke Ashton has designed and built the set, Gehna Greenlate and Dakota Radcliffe have created the costumes, Bella Roaden and Eliza Heady have headed up the makeup designs, and Maddie Smith and Maddie Symons have been in charge of Stage Crew/Props.
The cast includes Ben Sparrow as James, Evan Ewing as Spider, Daphne Moses as Lady Bug, Kristen Noyes as Grasshopper, Nick Payton as Earthworm, Maia Barnes as Centipede, Jessica Jones as Aunt Sponge, and Zoe Williams as Aunt Spiker. Zoe Langbecker and Alana Lamb provide exciting and hilarious narration for the show. Mara Cruz, Halie Spenner, and Alicia Moldovan are playing a range of characters from sharks to seagulls.
Junior Thespian troupes are a subset of the school theatre program. It is a student honor society, a separate student organization, and membership is earned. Any student may be a member of the theatre program, but only students who have been officially inducted and registered with the EdTA national office are members of International Thespian Society. All students in this production have earned between 10 and 50 points for working on play productions at Patton. One point in the Junior Thespian Society equals 10 hours of work on or behind the stage.