By Grace Gollihur, Associate Editor
On March 9, 10 and 11, El Camino’s Advanced Drama performed Alice in Wonderland in the Performing Arts Center.
The show was a flamboyant and wacky experience that all ages could enjoy. The set was full of color and the characters all had interesting and vibrant personalities. The Cheshire Cat, played by Josie Blair (‘23), used her magnetic character to engage kids in the story. She asked them questions and used her body language to grasp their attention.
“I tried to make him as friendly and mysterious as possible—I watched the musical, Cats, and I studied the movements of the characters who play cats,” Blair said.
She explained how the show was fun to perform and that the cast got along very well.
“It was a fun, silly, goofy thing that we could do—we didn’t have to be worried about getting a grand message across,” Blair said.
This show is also a comedy, with funny jokes in every scene. Drama Teacher Christopher Travlos spoke about his ability to make the show funny and appealing to children.
“One of the techniques that you think about for children’s theater is that you have to over-explain things because often kids don’t understand things when they’re nuanced,” Travlos said.
Travlos also explained that the Eagle Polytechnic Institute helped build a piece of the set and let the drama program borrow some equipment. EPI built what Travlos calls the “spinning wheel of death.” This contraption was used at the beginning of the show to spin Alice vertically to mimic the spinning when she is falling down the rabbit hole. Travlos explained how he felt the first time using the wheel.
“It was very special to me because it really set the tone for the show in a way that was really fun,” Travlos said.
All in all, the show was successful, and was widely regarded as a great show for all ages. To find out more about the Performing Arts Department and future shows, visit Travlos in S-3.
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