Practically Perfect

Although the theater team at WOHS did not know it when it chose “Mary Poppins,” it was a timely selection for this year’s fall musical: Disney announced Sept. 15 that a sequel to the original movie is in the works. But for now, all the world knows of Mary Poppins and the Banks family is their life in London in 1910, caught between the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

“The show takes place in a time of transition, in the turn of the century,” said sophomore Clarissa Moon, who will be playing Winifred Banks.

“You have the older adult characters that are very much stuck in that uptight way … and then you have characters like Mary Poppins and Bert, who have changed views.”

At first, Moon’s character is torn between the contrasting influences. But by the end of the show, she becomes a strong woman, much more sure of herself than she was at the start.

George Banks, played by senior John Sublette, also grows throughout the show. He starts as a strict working man, but learns to love and appreciate his family and having fun.

“I’m hoping that I can make that change a stark contrast and by the end, people will almost be in tears that the family has come together,” Sublette said.

Junior Emma Heistand will lead the show as Mary Poppins. She started dancing at age 3 and discovered in middle school her passion for singing and acting.

She got involved with Shine in the Limelight, a theater production company for youth. That’s where she first met senior Parker Wallace, who will be playing Bert. The two have performed together and individually many times throughout the years, but they have not yet starred as female and male leads together.

“Mary Poppins, for me, has been one of my dream roles to play, because of the character herself — the way she’s poised and friendly, but stern,” Heistand said.

One thing that all four lead cast members emphasized is that WOHS Theatre acts as a family. For most of the cast and crew, the other students on stage and in the wings are their best friends.

“When all of us come together, we get to do something a lot greater than any of us thought we could do by ourselves,” Wallace said.

Contact Catherine Sinclair at [email protected].

SHOWTIMES AND TICKETS

Shows will be Thursdays through Sundays, Oct. 1 to 11. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows are at 7 p.m.; Sunday shows are at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 for reserved seating, $12 for general admission or $10 for student general admission. Discounted rates are available for groups of 10 or more.

Visit wohstheatre.com to purchase tickets in advance.

BEHIND THE SCENES

A theatrical production is only as strong as its crew. Here are a few of the students you might not see during the show but whose work is essential to the success of every performance:

This will be senior Skylar Wostak’s fifth show as technical director at WOHS. He got into theater production as a student at Lakeview Middle School, where a teacher asked him to stay after school to help with a show.

“She threw me into being the technical director on my very first show,” Wostak said. “It just carried over to here, and then I worked my way up here.”

Wostak’s goal for the audience is to exceed their expectations, so they will see the production as higher quality than a standard high-school performance.

He plans to pursue a career related to theater and is considering attending an arts college to help him achieve that goal.

Senior Chase Steiner didn’t have experience in theater until his sophomore year, when a friend (Eric Hubbard, sound chief) persuaded him to help out with lights for a show. He enjoyed it enough to volunteer for the job the next year, but he was instead assigned to sets.

But because of the team-oriented atmosphere of WOHS Theatre, Steiner doesn’t restrict himself to sets; he still helps with lights and other tasks when he’s needed.

Steiner’s favorite set for “Mary Poppins” in the Banks family’s house.

“It’s going to look amazing,” he said. “It’s 8 feet wide and 8 feet deep, but it has these two doors that once you open them up, each door is 8 feet. So it’s going to be 32-foot-wide construction across the whole stage.”

In addition to serving as stage manager, senior Zachary Croft is president of the theater department this year. He has been involved with all aspects of productions at WOHS, including performing, designing, directing and working on sets and lights.

Croft said “Mary Poppins” has required a lot of organization because of its length and cast size.

“Because this is my first show as president of our department, a lot more responsibility has fallen on my plate, so that with stage management and school has been a balancing act,” Croft said.

Since he was a child, Croft has wanted to be on the production side of theater.

“Working with a show in a high position is great, because you get to put more input in and sort of make it your project, and seeing it soar in the end is one of the best feelings in the world,” Croft said.