Last month, a rebellious princess, a corrupt king, an evil witch, and a crew of monsters all graced Goodpasture’s stage. Goodpasture put on the play “The Witch’s Princess” on Oct. 19 and 21. Despite a tight schedule, the crew still managed to carry out a performance that received much praise.
The play tells the story of young Princess Alessandra who is on a quest to kill the Bog Witch who killed Alessandra’s mother. After having numerous suitors attempt to defeat the witch to win the princess’s hand in marriage, the princess decides to take matters into her own hands.
“She traveled to various different places to assemble the baddest group of monsters she could in order to defeat the Bog Witch,” junior Naomi Cartwright, who played the Bog Witch, said. “Yet, on her journey, she makes friends with these monsters after realizing they are simply misunderstood.”
In the end, Princess Alessandra discovers that the Bog Witch was just her mother who was cursed. She realizes that the true monster is actually her father. The Bog Witch then curses the king back to the swamp.
“The play’s just really goofy and funny,” junior Olivia Harding, who played Princess Alessandra, said. “If you like action-comedy it’s right up your alley.”
The planning process for the play began in August with rehearsals starting in September. However, due to changes in the schedule, there were only two dress rehearsals, as opposed to the usual four.
“We started rehearsals back in September and it progressively got more and more packed, and we practiced more often as we got closer to the show date,” Hunter Suttles, who played Scrud, said. “We started with blocking then got to full runs and ended off with the entire cast and crew working together.”
Although cast members shared the sentiment that it wasn’t easy work, especially within the final week, they all greatly enjoyed their time working on “The Witch’s Princess.”
“It was a lot to memorize, but that doesn’t change how much fun I had with my character,” freshman Wylder Smith, who plays one of the narrators, said. “Bickering with the second narrator was fun and interacting slightly with the audience was super interesting.”
After long, difficult nights during tech week, all of the cast and crew’s labor finally paid off on Oct. 19 and 21.
“We got the best compliments from everyone who went,” drama teacher Ginny Shockley said. “Everyone who came had a great time.”
The well-received outcome of the play would not have been possible without forming bonds with the people you have to work with. However, that was not a problem for Goodpasture’s cast.
“No one knows how many hours we spend going over scene after scene so that the show is perfect for those who watch it,” Cartwright said. “The best part is sharing the most exhausting moments with those you grow close to because you’re all in it together as one big family.”
Goodpasture’s theater department has two more performances to look forward to this school year: “Finding Nemo” on Nov. 9 and 10, and “Godspell” in the spring on March 8 and 9.
“We started preparing for “Nemo” at the same time as “The Witch’s Princess,” so we’ve been rehearsing at around the same time,” Mrs. Shockley said. “Then, as soon as we’re done with ‘Nemo,’ we’ll get into auditions for ‘Godspell.’”
